We all know that tobacco advertising laws have changed drastically over the years due to the impact of smoking on health; first tobacco was banned from television and radio advertising, then restrictions were placed on print advertising. Having grown up in this world of ever decreasing tobacco advertising, I was thrown when I suddenly came across this gigantic ad for Camels cigarettes in a 1904 Chatham Record edition. Today, tobacco companies are technically not allowed to take endorsements or testimonials from athletes, making this ad doubly unusual:
The New York Public Library hosted an exhibit in 2008, “Not a Cough in the Car”, displaying tobacco advertising from the 1920s through 1950s. You can see some of the ads featured here on the Time Magazine website – very interesting, and a little disturbing to see babies and Santa Claus promoting cigarettes!
