Wow-sex sells lots of things, but cigarettes have a special place in the retinue. That guy in the Camel ad is a Mark Spitz look-alike.

Print ads sure used to have a lot of copy.

By WCGB on 04.18.08 2:14 am

i’ve never been a smoker, don’t get it at all. is that camel dude tom selleck, cuz i thought he did a cig commerical back in my day?

By better safe than sorry on 04.18.08 2:35 am

haha! “I’d never smoke a BORING cigarette!” So much awesomeness packed into one post.

By Assertagirl on 04.18.08 2:53 am

I like: Newport, Alive With Pleasure.
You know, as opposed to dead with cancer.

By blackbird on 04.18.08 3:58 am

I did go through a brief phase, at age twenty or so, when I smoked Tiparillo-like cigars (this was in France, and I can’t recall the brand name. I was basically a Gauloises/Gitanes smoker. I quit years ago.)

There is, of course, something highly sexual about the act of smoking (there’s got to be some scholarly stuff on that somewhere.) I had never seen anything like that last ad for the Tiparillos - weird portrayal of a sexually liberated woman who is still being used as a sex object (with “no strings attached.”)

And, of course, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

By Elisabeth on 04.18.08 4:08 am

Wow, that last one! Whoa!

I’ve never smoked. I think it’s horrid. Smells bad and everything. yuck.

By Kyra on 04.18.08 4:24 am

Cigarettes? Huh? I’m still stuck on that Democrat’s unibrow!

By DaveX on 04.18.08 5:17 am

Is there really such a thing as a boring cigarette? Because I’ve never met one.

By Finn on 04.18.08 5:25 am

Too funny. And I will let you know that if you smoke a cigarette just right, guys will buy you drinks. At least that has worked for me in the past.

By Dagny on 04.18.08 5:45 am

What kind of whorey violinist is that?

By Ginormous Boobs on 04.18.08 6:05 am

I wonder if she could even play violin with those long nails…

By DaveX on 04.18.08 6:32 am

Camel man needs to do something about his toe. C’mon now, do men really think that’s sexy??? Ew!

By Memarie Lane on 04.18.08 6:39 am

“Winston tastes good like a cigarette should” for those us who like the eat our way into lung cancer.

By AnnieH on 04.18.08 6:47 am

And here’s the difference between men and women: I didn’t even notice the “violinist” had fingers, let alone fingernails.

By Porter on 04.18.08 7:02 am

nothing like some outright phallic symbolism to sell cancer sticks. i especially liked the viceroy “super longs.”

though the copy on the tiparillo ad is totally great. “after a tough evening with the beethoven crowd…listen to folk-rock records. preferably on your stereo…musicshe’s open minded…and, you dog, you’ve got both kinds in hand…”

they don’t write ad copy like that anymore. too bad.

By bookfraud on 04.18.08 7:05 am

I love those old cigarette ads. I remember a billboard by our house in Phoenix changed every month to either cigarette or alcohol ads. We got to check it out every day on our way to school. what an education.

By churlita on 04.18.08 7:08 am

I thought the last one with the violinist was a ha ha, doctored-up one for the grand finish. It’s for REAL?

By Heidi on 04.18.08 7:09 am

Where can I get a pair of lumberjack hot pants like the woman in the Camel ad? Those are sex-ay!

By Dana Whitaker on 04.18.08 7:13 am

This is an example of how nostalgia works. Back then, these ads were disgusting. Now, they are incredibly cool, right?

By Neil on 04.18.08 7:29 am

I too love those old ads. I love sifting through old issues of Life just to see the advertisements.

And is that violinist Beverly D’Angelo?

By HeyJoe on 04.18.08 7:44 am

“where excitement is now a flavor”

i think I could use that line in my daily life. Yea!

i am with joe on sifting through old life mags to see the ads. fun stuff.

By melanie on 04.18.08 8:08 am

That’s the violinist I want for my next birthday party.

By Karl on 04.18.08 8:18 am

What. The. Hell? That last ad is freaking me out! Also, I love how the Surgeon General’s warning is so general, “cigarette smoking is dangerous to your health.” And Kools taste good “even when you have a cold?” Wow. Just wow. Smoking sucks.

By buzzgirl on 04.18.08 8:22 am

I’d leave a better comment, but I have to go smoke now….

By Mr Lady on 04.18.08 8:26 am

I think that I am in the “WTF?” confusion of the last ad. However, the porn stash that the guy is sporting in the Camel is just HAWT!

By Loralee on 04.18.08 9:29 am

Can’t we go back to a time when we were stupid and smoke all we want without the guilt and fear? I’ve got some of these too. : )

By John on 04.18.08 9:36 am

Cigarette ads are like no other….

Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em!

By Kristabella on 04.20.08 8:11 am

Those old ads are awesome! Great finds.

By Atomic Bombshell on 04.22.08 1:47 pm