Marlboro Advertisement

This is an advertisement for Marlboro cigarettes made by the company. It’s target audience is most likely older men who work outdoors regularly as it is labeled “Marlboro Country” and has two cowboys on it. Personally, my Grandpa watches old western movies 24/7, and this ad would definitely appeal to him. This ad appeals to people who live a country lifestyle; working outside doing hard manual labor, working on farms, etc. I think it is extremely ironic that they are displaying a cigarette ad in the countryside as if it’s natural. It gives you the indication that people who consider themselves “country” smoke marlboro cigarettes, which isn’t always the case. It is extremely common for people who smoke cigarettes to discard their buds anywhere, as there is not always a designated spot for them to leave the buds. More than likely, if those men were smoking, they would end up polluting that land by tossing their cigarette buds out. So it’s interesting that they would use land that typically is untouched by mankind as an advertisement for cigarettes. Many people looking at this advertisement could have different opinions on it. They could think it’s cool because it’s got an old-time feel to it, or they could think it’s ironic like I have. The goal of this advertisement is for people to have more positive associations with cigarettes. The placement of the ad in the countryside could give a person the perception that they aren’t super harmful to your health (even though there is a small disclaimer in the left hand corner).

2 thoughts on “Marlboro Advertisement

  1. Wow, this is a new one and a good example of greenwashing. Yeah I can see why they would target older audiences because smoking used to be really big back then. I wonder how Marlboro feels about vaping.

  2. You’re right; it is quite shocking that Marlboro is advertising their cigarettes as a way of life in the natural world. The beautiful landscape shown in the ad, and the ideal way of life as a “cowboy” (like you said) seems to be amplified by Marlboro, according to the company. You brought up the disclaimer, and I noticed that as well. The disclaimer about the health consequences of cigarettes are intentionally small, and overpowered by a beautiful picture. Perhaps these disclaimers need to legally be bigger or more noticeable. What do you think?

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