Last but not least: When smoking was still really worth it
It's hard to imagine today, but there was a time when a large part of the world's population considered the Marlboro Man the coolest guy around. Back then, smoking a cigarette still symbolized freedom. With every puff, you felt closer to your Hollywood idols.
It's hard to imagine today, but there was a time when most of the world's population thought the Marlboro Man was the coolest guy ever. Back then, smoking a cigarette still meant freedom. Every puff made you feel closer to your role models in Hollywood. And they were paid handsomely for the advertising impact of their tar-inhaling behavior.
Almost 200 Hollywood stars were on the payroll of tobacco companies such as American Tobacco, Reynolds, Liggett & Myers and others during the "Golden Age" of the dream factory on the West Coast. According to a study published on Thursday, stars such as Gary Cooper, Clark Gable, Joan Crawford and Spencer Tracy were lured with extremely high sums of money. The tobacco companies' documents, which were kept secret for a long time, show that Hollywood's crème de la crème were generously paid advertisers.
According to the study published in the British magazine Tobacco Control, American Tobacco paid a total of 218,750 dollars to stars to advertise the Lucky Strike brand in the 1937/38 season alone - the equivalent of around 3.2 million dollars today.
Today, smokers are being hounded everywhere. Even Clark Gable, and even the Marlboro Man, would no longer be able to smoke in the saloon if the "Initiative against passive smoking" is adopted next Sunday. Won't anyone side with the stars and cowboys?
Almost 200 Hollywood stars were on the payroll of tobacco companies such as American Tobacco, Reynolds, Liggett & Myers and others during the "Golden Age" of the dream factory on the West Coast. According to a study published on Thursday, stars such as Gary Cooper, Clark Gable, Joan Crawford and Spencer Tracy were lured with extremely high sums of money. The tobacco companies' documents, which were kept secret for a long time, show that Hollywood's crème de la crème were generously paid advertisers.
According to the study published in the British magazine Tobacco Control, American Tobacco paid a total of 218,750 dollars to stars to advertise the Lucky Strike brand in the 1937/38 season alone - the equivalent of around 3.2 million dollars today.
Today, smokers are being hounded everywhere. Even Clark Gable, and even the Marlboro Man, would no longer be able to smoke in the saloon if the "Initiative against passive smoking" is adopted next Sunday. Won't anyone side with the stars and cowboys?
