marlboro
television advertisements in the ’60s reflected the idea of freedom in wide-open spaces, especially once the theme from the movie The Magnificent Seven was added to the scenes of cowboys leading their herds through dusty canyons of "Marlboro Country" or charging off to rein in a stray colt. Part of the success of the campaign might be attributable to the fact that Marlboro cigarettes forged some credibility by using real cowboys in some of the ads instead of actors just playing the part. The image took hold with enough force that even through a ban on televised tobacco advertisements that began in 1971, the Marlboro Man survived unharmed. Instead of riding off into the sunset, the image turned up in print ads and on billboards all over the country. While a government ban couldn’t kill the Marlboro Man, the instrument that ended up doing the trick was the product itself. Two Marlboro men, Wayne McLaren and David McLean, died of lung cancer, but not before McLaren could testify in favor of anti-smoking legislation.
