Ads are never a perfect reflection of the way things are....if they were, there would be nothing to sell. But they do reveal some interesting things about the past.
1939 Lucky Strike ad:
This 1949 Camel ad is a sad hoot:
And this 1959 ad tries to sexy it up a bit..... But I had to have some fun with it:
Doesn't his expression seem to say "What are you trying to give me??"
And here is my oldest, from 1938. Can you guess what Spencer Tracy died from??? Not Lung Cancer......(see below)
No, not Lung Cancer... Answer: A heart attack. I searched in hopes there would be some irony there. He was only 67 years old. So the smoking probably didn't help.
Do you know what is a fact though...
100% of all smokers DIE.
(Actually....100% of all non-smokers die too. Soooooo....be careful of news facts. Even if they are true, they maybe misleading.)
For those that find these old ads interesting and funny, HERE is a whole page of them that someone collected. Some are quite cringy!!
How do you feel about smoking? I'm actually okay with smoking tobacco, though I think cigarettes are the worst form. I have fond childhood memories of a neighbor that would smoke pipe on his front porch. Usually, just on Sunday afternoons. It had such a pleasant aroma to it.
American natives have used tobacco for 3 thousand years.
"Tobacco has long been used in the Americas, with some cultivation sites in Mexico dating back to 1400–1000 BC." - wikipedia
And while USE doesn't always mean BENEFITED FROM, I am never in favor of flat out banning a plant or natural product. Also, I am against the government being overly involved. Both in their assistance:
And in their taxation and control. How much of each pack of cigarettes today is tax? In New York it is $6.91 per pack. The Federal portion is $1.06, while the remainder is levied by the state and local governments. That is simply insane.
Will marijuana be the governments next cash cow/poor tax? Is that why marijuana was legalized in California? To pay against the states surmounting public-assistance debt load? Here are the numbers from Washington state..... I would expect California to grow to more than double that: "Washington state collected a total of $319 million in legal marijuana income and license fees in fiscal year 2017"
Just think of all the bureaucrats that can be paid from that tax sum! 🙈🙉🙊
Okay...not meaning to go political their, but my cynicism took control.
Well, I hope you enjoyed the contest HERE!! We had 4 winners!!
Please continue to enjoy my Nostalgia Review Series!!!
More to come soon!!
These TIME magazines will be available for sell following the completion of the Series. Save them....otherwise I will probably be cutting them up and using them as wall art!!
Peace!!
