Camel

Late in 1913, the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJRT) launched its new Camel Cigarettes. It was the first American blend cigarette, made largely from Burley and Bright tobaccos, and heavily sweetened, with just a smattering of Turkish tobacco. Reflecting the popularity of Turkish tobacco cigarettes, the Camel pack proclaimed that it contained "Turkish & Domestic Blend Cigarettes." Listing Turkish first gave the cigarettes an exotic air of far greater importance than its actual presence justified. The Middle Eastern-sounding name, chosen in part because it would be easy to recall, and packaging displaying pyramids and palm trees further strengthened the cigarettes' appeal.

The marketing campaign for Camel was as innovative as the product. RJRT purchased large teaser newspaper advertisements over a four-week period. The first showed only the word Camel and the image of a camel. The second announced "The Camels are coming," and the third stated, "tomorrow there'll be more Camels in this town than in all Asia and Africa combined." Only in the fourth week did the ads identify Camel as a new cigarette brand.

Contrary to the then-contemporary practices of regional marketing, Camel was marketed nationally. Additionally, Camel was designed to make a profit at 10 cents a pack, while many other brands sold for 15 cents. To counteract any impression of tawdriness, RJRT placed notices, which still appear on Camel packs sold today, stating "Don't look for premiums or coupons, as the cost of the tobaccos blended in Camel Cigarettes prohibits the use of them."

Camels were an instant hit with the American public, aided by their popularity with soldiers during World War I as a quick, convenient smoke and by the fact that they appeared at about the time when more women were learning to smoke; sales were also assisted by the disruption of Turkish tobacco supplies. In the first year, 400 million Camels were manufactured. Two billion were produced in 1915 and 10 billion in 1916, as Camel became America's first truly national cigarette brand. By 1921, RJRT produced 18 billion Camels a year, capturing almost half of the American market. In 1921 cigarettes became the best-selling tobacco product for the first time in the United States, and, in that same year, one of the most famous advertising slogans of all-time was born: "I'd walk a mile for a Camel."

This cigarette was aimed at a mass market and it became a cigarette for the common people. As a result, the camel image became almost a cliché. During the 1920s and 1930s, graphics reminiscent of the Camel pack appeared on smokers' accessories, and table lighters were made in the shape of a camel.

From the mid-1940s through the end of the 1950s, Camel was the best-selling American cigarette. RJRT resisted making changes to its premier brand; indeed, public outcry over a minor packaging revision in 1958 caused RJRT to withdraw it. Despite the addition of Camel Filters in 1966 and Camel Lights somewhat later, the brand's market share steadily declined into the 1980s. Then the "Joe Camel" advertising campaign, introduced in 1987, rejuvenated the brand, giving it a more youthful image.? By 1997, when RJRT discontinued the campaign amid pressure from antismoking groups, Camel's market share, especially among the youngest smokers, had increased dramatically. Since then, Camel marketing has sought to project a youthful image, particularly with the recent "Kamel" and "Camel Exotic" brand extensions.

? See "Youth Marketing" for a photograph of a Joe Camel billboard.

See Also Gitanes/Gauloises; Lucky Strike; Marlboro; Virginia Slims.

? JOSEPH PARKER

BIBLIOGRAPHY

DeSmith, David. A Camel Named Joe. Boston: duCap Books, 1998.

Kluger, Richard. Ashes to Ashes: America's Hundred-Year Cigarette War, the Public Health, and the Unabashed Triumph of Philip Morris. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996.

Tilley, Nannie M. The R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1985.

American blend cigarette cigarette made from blend of various American tobaccos, for example, Bright (also called Virginia) and Burley. Can also refer to cigarette containing American tobaccos blended with similar Asian or African tobaccos.

Turkish tobacco a variety of mild, aromatic tobacco. Ironically, Turkish tobacco is not native to Turkey but was imported from North America. Turkish tobacco leaves are smaller and more delicate than American varieties. It is usually blended with Bright Leaf (Virginia) and Burley in cigarettes.

market share the fraction, usually expressed as a percentage, of total commerce for a given product controlled by a single brand; the consumer patronage for a given brand or style of product.