Chapter 12: Let There Be Light Summary

With the loss of television ads, Philip Morris was having much more success in translating its Marlboro cowboy image to print media than RJR's Winston brand. Marlboros were heavily promoted. The success of the 1973 horserace, the Marlboro Cup, opened a new era for sponsoring spectator sporting events. The Virginia Slims tennis tour also became popular. Philip Morris also worked to increase its marketing and sales efforts in the field. It invested heavily in ultra-modern, efficient facilities that replaced the old, factory cigarette mills of the past. The company's man-hour output rate doubled.

Marketers wanted to release a low tar Marlboro, but did not want the name "mild" to detract from the rugged image of the product. The synonym "light" was proposed as an alternative. Marlboro Lights did start off slowly, in part due to lack...