Stanford University houses what may be the world's largest online collection of tobacco advertisements — over 62,000 scans spanning three centuries that tell a fascinating story of how the industry shaped public perception of smoking.
The Stanford Research into the Impact of Tobacco Advertising (SRITA) archive, established in 2007, documents how tobacco companies marketed their products across eras. From glamorous celebrity endorsements to pseudo-scientific health claims, the collection reveals the industry's sophisticated techniques for targeting specific demographics — including women, youth, and ethnic minorities.
"Our purpose is to study the promotional activities of the tobacco industry," explains Stanford professor Robert Jackler, SRITA's principal investigator. The project brings together researchers from diverse fields including medicine, history, and anthropology to analyze everything from vintage cigarette ads to modern e-cigarette marketing on social media.
Each piece in the collection helps tell the story of an industry that masterfully adapted its marketing strategies to survive decades of increasing regulation and health concerns.
Examples:
"Throat doctors know what harsh tobacco does to throat membrane. They voted for O.G because its clean sun-ripened queen leaf tobacco is like honey to the throat."
This advertisement for Old Golds hawks its wares as "best for your throat" according to otolaryngologists. Made more attractive and believable by including Robert Ripley (1890-1949), creator of "Ripley's Believe it or Not," the ad cites a taste test given to "a group of throat specialists." There is no indication of how large this group is, but from the photograph, the sampling appears small. Mr. Ripley passed away from heart failure at the age of 59.
"Eric the Red, 'Nature in the Raw'- as portrayed by Harland Frazer, inspired by the marauding Viking Chieftain whose vandalism branded him as The Terror of the North (975-1000 A.D.). 'Nature in the Raw is Seldom Mild'- and raw tobaccos have no place in cigarettes."
"It's Toasted" is a slogan of the American Tobacco Co. for its Lucky Strike brand from 1917, referring to heat curing rather than sun drying of the leaf. Purported to "remove harmful corrosive acrids (pungent irritants)" and to "sterilize" tobacco. In reality, their curing of tobacco did not differ from methods of other manufacturers.
"Take a puff… it is springtime"
Most of the ads in this campaign – "Should a gentleman offer a Tiparillo to a lady…" – advertise Tiparillos as the perfect way to attract a successful, sexy woman. In this ad, the text surprises the viewer by taking a different stance – "No!" It claims that everyone loves Tiparillos so much, there is now a short supply, and women are not worthy of having the cigarettes until there are more available. The man's hand, as he pulls the Tiparillo out of the shocked, doe-eyed woman's mouth, is larger than the woman's face, indicative of his power and dominance over her. The subliminal message of this ad is that Tiparillos are a man's cigarette, and that they are attractive to women.
Previously:
• Tobacco giant Philip Morris is quietly funding an 'anti-smoking' foundation offering $1 billion in 'grants' to public health leaders
• How tobacco companies used stress research to trick people into thinking cigarettes were healthy
• San Francisco bans smoking tobacco in apartments, weed A-OK
• Health insurers invest billions in tobacco stocks
• CDC chief Brenda Fitzgerald quits after outed for buying into a tobacco company
• The worst job of the 19th Century: nipple pinchers vs. anal tobacco blowers vs. tongue pullers in reviving the dead
