The Marlboro Man: How Filtered Cigarettes Became the Cowboy's Choice

In the 1950s, the cigarettes of choice for most men were going to be unfiltered and strong, especially from brands such as Camel and Lucky Strike. Filtered cigarettes were therefore seen as feminine, delicate, or for the ill. All of this saw that Marlboro and their filter tip cigarette was failing to take any significant market share.

Mild as May: The original Marlboro

Before they became the icon we know them as today, Marlboro marketed themselves almost exclusively towards women. Their slogan? "Mild as May." They would position themselves as a clean and healthy cigarette, showing that their filter tips wouldn’t smear your lipstick and that they were to be the woman's choice. They had an issue though, as despite trying to stay in their lane, nobody was buying them. Marlboro needed a rebrand, and fast.

Enter Leo Burnett

In 1954, the Marlboro account landed in the hands of advertising legend Leo Burnett. His fix was to completely flip the script and make filtered cigarettes manly. Burnett didn’t just come up with some new ads, he completely reimagined the identity of Marlboro, wrapping the brand into masculine archetypes such as Blue Collar Workers, War Hero’s, and most iconically, Cowboys. He switched the company from product focused marketing to lifestyle marketing, making people want to live the lifestyle instead of merely buying a product.

But Why Cowboys?

The 1950s-1970s saw the cowboy as a defining figure in pop culture. Cowboys didn’t need to explain themselves. They worked in the wilderness that they tamed with their own hands, made their own way,and followed their own rules. And when the sun would set, they would smoke. The Marlboro Man was therefore not just a character, but a symbol of freedom, grit, and masculinity. Filtered cigarettes were now for the man's man.

From Afterthought to Empire

The campaign worked. In less than a decade Marlboro went from a brand struggling to sell to women to the number one brand in the whole country. It became a lifestyle, not just a product. you were t just smoking a cigarette, you were embodying the masculinity and freedom of the Marlboro Man in every puff. This is lifestyle marketing 101. The product is secondary to the feeling and identity that you want to portray. The Marlboro man sold millions by lighting up a cigarette on horseback and not saying a word.

What We Can Learn

Marlboro didn’t invent filtered cigarettes. If you ask many people, they didn’t even make the best one. But it is undeniable that they told the best story. They proved that:

• A product's perception matters more than its specifications
• Myth making allows even the unmasculine to be reclaimed completely
• Icons move culture faster than facts

That's what Ciggy Suits is all about.

Ciggy Suits

Each Ciggy suit NFT has been made so that a part of them relates directly to a famous marketing case like this. The Marlboro Man is in there, and he’ll be in some of yours too. Open a pack soon and join the carton.
And remember, it’s all marketing