Marlboro Oral History and Documentation Project
name: label: Creator
content: Ellsworth, Scott, Dr.
label: Creator
content: Zinn, Manfredo
label: Creator
content: Marx, Dick
label: Creator
content: Nunez, Raul
label: Creator
content: Winfield, Darrel
label: Creator
content: Kwan, William
label: Creator
content: Kwong, Goddard
label: Creator
content: Adams, Hall
label: Creator
content: Landry, Jack
label: Creator
content: Arguelles, Rafael
label: Creator
content: Fockler, Knut
label: Creator
content: Philip Morris, Inc.
label: Creator
content: Gil, Felipe
label: Creator
content: Jarrard, Tom
label: Names
content: Leo Burnett, Inc.
place: label: Place
content: Brazil -- advertising
label: Place
content: Argentina -- advertising
label: Place
content: China -- advertising
label: Place
content: Hong Kong -- advertising
label: Place
content: Switzerland -- advertising
label: Place
content: West Germany -- advertising
label: Place
content: Dominican Republic -- advertising
title: label: Topic
content: Marlboro (cigarette brand)
topic: label: Occupation
content: Cinematographers
label: Topic
content: T.V. commercial producers
label: Topic
content: Photographers
label: Topic
content: Accountants
label: Topic
content: advertising -- Cigarettes -- 20th century
label: Topic
content: Cowboys -- 20th century
label: Topic
content: Advertising, Newspaper -- 20th century
label: Topic
content: Smoking -- 1940-1990
label: Topic
content: Travel photography -- 1940-1990
label: Topic
content: Photography, Advertising -- 20th century
label: Topic
content: Advertising photography
label: Topic
content: Advertising campaigns -- 20th century
label: Topic
content: Cigarette industry -- 20th century
label: Topic
content: Cigarettes -- advertising -- 20th century
label: Topic
content: Advertising agencies -- 20th century
label: Topic
content: Television advertising -- Cigarettes -- 1940-1990
label: Topic
content: Advertising, magazine -- 20th century
label: Topic
content: Art directors
label: Topic
content: Copy writers
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated to the Archives Center by Philip Morris, Inc. in 1986.
creator: label: Creator
content: Ellsworth, Scott, Dr.
label: Creator
content: Zinn, Manfredo
label: Creator
content: Marx, Dick
label: Creator
content: Nunez, Raul
label: Creator
content: Winfield, Darrel
label: Creator
content: Kwan, William
label: Creator
content: Kwong, Goddard
label: Creator
content: Adams, Hall
label: Creator
content: Landry, Jack
label: Creator
content: Arguelles, Rafael
label: Creator
content: Fockler, Knut
label: Creator
content: Philip Morris, Inc.
label: Creator
content: Gil, Felipe
label: Creator
content: Jarrard, Tom
setName: label: See more items in
content: Marlboro Oral History and Documentation Project
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: The history of Marlboro cigarettes offers insight into one of the great advertising and marketing success stories of the 20th century. Marlboro cigarettes were marketed from the Victorian era through the first half of this century as a women's cigarette, with tag-lines that aimed to appeal to female smokers, such as "Marlboro - Mild As May." In 1955, two transformations occurred which would affect both profitability and brand recognition: the addition of an integrated filter and the re-invention of the market through the debut of the "Marlboro Man" advertising campaign. The original Marlboro Man campaign featured close-up images of all kinds of men using the product -- the cowboy was one, along with lifeguards, sailors, drill sergeants, construction workers, gamblers and other types suggestive of a masculine spirit and rugged independence. By 1963, the "Marlboro Country" campaign began. This campaign focused on the cowboy and his symbolic canon: boots, hats, horses, and western landscapes. By the mid-1980s, Marlboro was the best-selling brand in the United States and the world, and the Marlboro cowboy was among the most widely recognized of American cultural symbols. Sold in over 180 nations, both the cigarettes and the ad campaign had become a global phenomena.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 17.4 Cubic feet (53 boxes, 1 map-folder)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1926-1988
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0198
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Color slides
label: Type
content: Commercials
label: Type
content: Audiotapes
label: Type
content: Videotapes
label: Type
content: Posters
label: Type
content: Proofs (printed matter)
label: Type
content: Newsletters
label: Type
content: Articles
label: Type
content: Slides (photographs)
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Dthe collection is divided into seven series.

Series 1: Research Files, 1943-1987

Series 2, Interviewee Files, 1986

Series 3; Oral History Interviews, 1986

Series 4: Advertising Materials, 1926-1986

Series 5: Promotional items and packaging, 1926-1986

Series 6: Publications and Research Material, 1960-1988

Series 7: Travel Slides Generated by Project Team, 1926-1986
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Collection processed by Stacy Flaherty, 1987
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Color slides -- 1960-1990
label: Genre/Form
content: Commercials
label: Genre/Form
content: Audiotapes -- 1980-1990
label: Genre/Form
content: Videotapes
label: Genre/Form
content: Posters
label: Genre/Form
content: Proofs (printed matter)
label: Genre/Form
content: Newsletters
label: Genre/Form
content: Articles
label: Genre/Form
content: Slides (photographs) -- 1950-2000
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The Marlboro Oral History and Documentation Project is the result of a two-year effort supported in part by a gift from Philip Morris, Inc. Sixty oral history interviews and a variety of television commercials, print advertising, promotional materials, packaging, and industry publications were gathered to document Marlboro cigarette advertising.  The bulk of the collection focuses on the period between 1954 and 1986, and examines the "Marlboro man", "Settle Back" and "Marlboro Country" campaigns. The collection is a rich source of information for researchers interested in advertising and marketing history, issues of smoking and health, and the export of both tobacco and American cultural symbols abroad.  
 
The core of the collection is a series of interviews conducted during 1985-1987 by Dr. Scott Ellsworth, an independent scholar and oral historian. The broad range of interviewees included executives of Philip Morris, advertising agency personnel from Leo Burnett, photographers, production staff, sales and marketing personnel, and Marlboro cowboys.
 
Twenty-seven interviews were conducted overseas, in Argentina, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Hong Kong, Switzerland, and West Germany. Conducted primarily with Marlboro licensee and affiliate staff, the interviews focus on the marketing and advertising history of Marlboro in the six nations.  These interviews and others conducted with executives of Philip Morris International in New York City also address the history of Marlboro advertising in Africa, the Middle East, China, Eastern Europe and elsewhere in Europe and Latin America.
 
The interviews cover events from the 1930s through the 1980s.  They focus on the theory and development of Marlboro advertising, its content and creation, and its modifications over the years. The foreign interviews also discuss the structure of the local cigarette marketplace, marketing and advertising techniques, and the use and modification of Marlboro advertising for different cultures.
 
Finding aids to the oral histories include abstracts of each interview indicating the major topic discussed, a cumulative index to personal names and topics in the interviews, and brief biographical and scope notes.