Perspective: Breathtaking Moments

There’s a universal truth to tobacco ads: Show couples having fun, and you’ll sell the smoke

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The first advertisement for tobacco appeared in 1789. It ran in a New York newspaper and was paid for by the Lorillard Tobacco Co. Exactly 186 years later, Lorillard introduced a cigarette brand called Newport. To this day, that brand—with yearly sales around $5 billion—trails only the mighty Marlboro.

Just how much of that success has to do with Newport’s marketing efforts is less clear. After all, advertising a cigarette brand these days is like getting comfy in a straight jacket.

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