Tobacco Advertising Icons: Marlboro Man and Joe Camel

The Power and Perception of Modern Advertising

"There is no evidence that advertising can get people to do things contrary to their self-interest."
— Jib Fowles, "Advertising's Fifteen Basic Appeals"

"Good advertising does not just circulate information. It penetrates the public mind with desires and belief."
— Leo Burnett, Advertising Executive and Creator of the Marlboro Man

"The ability to attract new smokers and develop them into a young adult franchise is key to brand development."
— 1999 Philip Morris internal report

Creating Advertising Icons: From Pop Culture to Propaganda

When the preceding collection of opinions regarding the influence of modern advertising are considered together, it becomes quite clear that — much like advertising itself — forming an informed position on this ubiquitous aspect of modern marketing is simply a matter of perception and perspective (Belch 120). Corporate conglomerates and other private enterprises ascribe tremendous value to the persuasive power of advertising, bombarding the general public with television commercials, radio jingles, magazine spreads, newspaper inserts, and roadside billboards. In addition to these more overt forms of advertising, most modern companies also engage in subtle attempts to generate demand for their services or manufactured goods, employing indirect marketing tactics such as product placement within popular films or television programs.

While the technique of attaching celebrity endorsers to certain products associated with their image is an American advertising staple, entertainment conglomerates like Disney are increasingly inserting recognizable products directly into traditionally artistic forms of mass media (Okazaki 209). The vast majority of objective media analysts agree that this form of advertising "manipulates people psychologically to buy things they can't afford by promising greater sex appeal, improved social status, or other unrealistic expectations" (Bovee and Arens 685). While this exploitative practice may be considered permissible from the purveyor of household goods, clothing, or other staples of modern living, society has grown understandably wary of companies that choose to utilize product placement and other indirect forms of advertising to compel the consumption of harmful goods like alcohol and tobacco. Nowhere is this concern more warranted than in examining the exceptionally objectionable advertisements used by Philip Morris USA, the largest manufacturer of tobacco products in the country and the company responsible for creating the Marlboro Man — one of advertising's most infamously effective marketing icons.

Throughout history, a number of people — whether real or fictional — have become indelibly embedded in popular culture, and advertising agencies have always been cognizant of the opportunity to exploit the public's admiration in the name of expanding market share. Legendary entertainers like Elvis Presley, The Beatles, and Michael Jackson are even able to advertise effectively in a posthumous fashion, as their natural charisma and ability to inspire loyalty create an enduring link between them and their fans (Leiss 34). Most widely known endorsers in popular culture did not seek to become icons or significant historical figures; society simply developed an affinity for them, and for their message, inventions, or ideas.

The Marlboro Man and Joe Camel as Cultural Forces

In some cases, significant figures in popular culture were invented through imagination — such as the patriotic paternal figure Uncle Sam or the inspirational forerunner to modern feminism, Rosie the Riveter — while others, like Mickey and Minnie Mouse, were created simply for the sake of amusement. The most insidious advertising icons, however, were created with the calculated intention of distorting impressionable minds and inspiring false loyalties to dangerous and detrimental products (Schudson 72). As a study conducted by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute observed in 1987, "in the face of public concern about the health hazards of smoking and the decreasing per capita smoking rates, the findings of these studies suggest that the tobacco industry has attempted to increase cigarette consumption among populations that have traditionally been light smokers (e.g., women and youth)" (Altman, Slater, Albright & Maccoby 95).

The Marlboro Man and Joe Camel — characters created as a way to distract consumers from the serious health consequences associated with chronic cigarette smoking — are considered by advertising experts to be among the most effective tools ever devised by tobacco companies. This consensus is confirmed by the fact that "a 1991 study found … that Joe Camel was more recognizable among 5- and 6-year-olds than Mickey Mouse" (James and Olstad 2). By targeting children and adolescents with mascots like the Marlboro Man and Joe Camel, as well as through overt product placement in major motion pictures throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, major tobacco companies — including Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds — created a way to ease the smoker's mind and, perhaps worst of all, to ingratiate themselves into the minds of children whose parents smoked. In doing so, they built globally recognized advertising icons that propelled tobacco into the realm of billion-dollar industries.

Despite the claim made by Fowles that advertising is incapable of compelling people to act against their own self-interest (556), tobacco companies stumbled upon an incredibly effective and efficient way to encourage the American public to knowingly purchase and ingest a poisonous product. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has extensively documented the relationship between tobacco marketing and smoking uptake, particularly among young people.