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| Second-hand smoke kills, but with an ad like this, who cares? |
His name is James B. Duke and he knew that sex sells. He created trade cards (ancestor of pokemon, sports collectible trading cards) that were inserted in cigarette packages. Multiple series were created - Civil War Generals, Coins of All Nations - for collection but the most popular were women (mostly unknowns but some were actresses) scantly dressed.
Tobacco will eventually kill or at least disable you, but as long as sex appeal is used in advertising... who cares?
Taken from Duke Library: Emergence of Advertising in America
October 17th, 1894
[JB Duke, NY]
My dear Son: -
I have received the enclosed letter from the Rev. John C. Hocutt, and am very much impressed with the wisdom of his argument against circulating lascivious photographs with cigarettes, and have made up my mind to bring the matter to your attention in the interest of morality, and in the hope that you can invent a proper substitute for these pictures which will answer your requirements as an advertisement as well as an inducement to purchase. His views are so thoroughly and plainly stated that I do not know how that I can add anything except to state that they accord with my own, and that I have always looked upon the distribution of this character of advertisement as wrong in its pernicious effects upon young man and womanhood, and therefore has not jingled with my religious impulses. Outside of the fact that we owe christianity all the assistance we can lend it in any form, which is paramount to any other consideration, I am fully convinced that this mode of advertising will be used and greatly streghten [sic, "strengthen"] the arguments against cigarettes in the legislative halls of the States. I hope you will consider this carefully and appreciate my side of the question. It would please me very much to know that a change had been made.
My dear Son: -
I have received the enclosed letter from the Rev. John C. Hocutt, and am very much impressed with the wisdom of his argument against circulating lascivious photographs with cigarettes, and have made up my mind to bring the matter to your attention in the interest of morality, and in the hope that you can invent a proper substitute for these pictures which will answer your requirements as an advertisement as well as an inducement to purchase. His views are so thoroughly and plainly stated that I do not know how that I can add anything except to state that they accord with my own, and that I have always looked upon the distribution of this character of advertisement as wrong in its pernicious effects upon young man and womanhood, and therefore has not jingled with my religious impulses. Outside of the fact that we owe christianity all the assistance we can lend it in any form, which is paramount to any other consideration, I am fully convinced that this mode of advertising will be used and greatly streghten [sic, "strengthen"] the arguments against cigarettes in the legislative halls of the States. I hope you will consider this carefully and appreciate my side of the question. It would please me very much to know that a change had been made.
Affectionately, your father,
[W. Duke]
In this letter, you can see that James Buchanan Duke had some morals - at least guided by a reverend and his Christian faith. He understands the impact these forms of advertisements have on young man and womanhood.
But morals don't lead to maximized profits and unfortunately we are stuck in this world where emotion trumps intellect. And we all know how high on emotion sex is.... what's your favorite sex charged ad?
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