The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-02-01
PEOPLES FORUM
Thinks 1t Advertisement For Cigarettes.

! Editor of The Virginian:
Sir,-For some time / have been vainfy watch
ing the press. especially the higher class maya
| zines, for some comment on the extraordinary
advertising campaign which is being maintained
/ by the cigarette trust The advertising agents
/ of this corporation-they are generally called
publicity men nowadays-do not stand in the
/ tAelt meCnod lis infinitely more subtle. crafty,
artistic and painstakng. They are the distinct
! leaders of impressionist school of adver.is-
ers and make their appeals in many indirect
and devious ways that their performances would
provoke admiration were they less shocking In
the decentralization which they designed to
cause For instance an aviator makes cross
country fight and perhaps breaks record
when he alights with his machine and receives
the applause of the assembled multitude
Give me cigarette" calculates the bird mar
the moment he reaches terra-hrma, and 10. the
news-gathering association telegraphs this bit
OF play all over the world. A daredevil
youth drops from Brooklyn bridge. and when
assembled crowd thus: Huh! some of YOU
fellers gin me the makins of a cigarette quick"
| parts OF the earth where newspapers are read
The public is duly impressed by the sangfroid
exhibited by the daring youth, and what is a
great deal worse, is unconsciously influenced
by the sly advertisement OF the cigarette. An
American athlete stirs the patriotism OF his
countrymen by winning the great Marathon
race; whereupon his portrait is displayed In
every newspaper and periodical in the country
with the trademark of popular brand Of
cigarettes pinned upon his manly breast.
To be little circumstantial let us
quote from the New York World Magazine.
or one holman Law who is described as the
champion thrill absorber.' This story la SO
entertainly related that so discerning journal
as the Literary Digest reproduces it without
leaving out the covert advertisement which It
contains. Law is professional dare devil.
and performs all sorts of stunts for the NOV
ing picture people; ike scaling the front of
thirty-story sky-scrapers; diving off the God
Describing the latter feat, Law is made to saw
this by the advertising genius who frames up
his statement:
hon Stn
foreman was so frightened he was bawling like
baby. / grinned at him, and. reaching over,
1erked his cigarette out OF his mouth and nut
I It I'm mime Then TT out into the air.
wen done! One would suppose that the ad-
vertiseing man would be well enough satisfied
with inns Accomplishment and let it go at that
but no; he is tempted to add another artistic
touch before the story goes to the printers and
so he gives us this by way OF describing Laws
sensation when under water:
About the only thing I wished for when
! was in the water, was good puff of cigar
cite or little drink which suggest that the
performing daredevil was on the payroll or
the whlskey people well the cigarette
tenporaneous events in the sporting world. or
Wherever piucky endurance and manly duali-
Ties are brought into play, cannot have failed
to notice in the descriptive paraphernalia which
efnpei1shes the report of all such events the
ever-present cigarette. The implication lis that
the coffin mail" which has been the subject
/ or such drastic legislation in many Of our
states Is not a menace, but is actually a stay
and support to men of courage in great emer-
gencies. Consistent with this the artists nencfI
keeps company with the writer's pen and the
NAN Wae does things is pictured In r,f,reaft
literature with cigarette between his Inns or
between his fingers. How long, may ask can
such sinister influence be exerted on the
morals OF our susceptible youths without ex-
citing vigorous protest from the people /? And
TINS Is simply one phase of the advertising work
done by the cigarette trust. Look at the current
novels and at all the leading magazines Is n
possible that any ordinarily obseryant nerson
can read their contents without noticing that
nearly every piece of fiction carries an advartisa
ment, in some form or another, of the cIra rats
IN All such matter cigarette smoking in mt
treated as a vice to he frowned upon or dis
creetly hidden from view. but is paradad as
part and parcel OF our life. and in a wav cal.
cniated TO make the public mind com pIacant
over the rapid spread Of this evil which IN tha
minds or thoughtful people. is one of tha most
uemorailZing influences in society affecfinr hoth
| health and morals. Some of this s,rranf,ttnns
advertising Is actually designed to c,titivate
Inc tolerance of women with Respect tn this
hapit' ana the probaganda Is so cIeverlv dis
galsed that 1t passes unchallenged by the nun
lie press. even by those publications which ara
supposed to be devoted to the human ,,n,ift
Inc cigarette trust does not challenge the nhv-
sioiosical and moral effects attributed to TIE
| cgarette. on the contrary they resort 70 :
miserable, crafty system of creating rnh,,c
sentiment designed to dull public anrrehan
sion with respect to this national ey-riaa rs,ta
smoking. " ~Aeas oete
Claremont, Va. '