History
Introduced in 1913 by the American Tobacco Company founder, RJR Richard Reynolds, Camel cigarettes have been successful largely due to innovative marketing campaigns - allowing Camel to be one of the best known cigarette brands in the world.
In a move that was unique in the tobacco industry at the time, each cigarette contained a carefully blended combination of Virginia and Turkish tobacco, a combination that produce a smoother inhale, along with a distinctive 'browner' smell. While the smoke-ability of the brand played an important role in its popularity, what truly threw Camel into the spotlight was its many advertising campaigns.
The introduction of Camel cigarettes to the US marketplace employed one of the first examples of teaser advertising commencing three days from the brand's release. The first advertisement to appear in newspapers simply said "Camels".
Two days away from release, the newspaper advertisements where marginally more descriptive, now picturing a camel and the phrase "Camels are coming!". This was followed up on the day before release with advertisements picturing more camels and the text "Tommorrow the city will be crowded by camels more than in Asia and Africa together".
Now that the entire United States was enthralled with the concept of camels, yet not knowing what the advertisements actually meant American Tobacco Company (which would later be known as RJ Reynolds Tobacco) released the brand to the marketplace, with a final advertisement appearing in newspapers proclaiming that "Camel cigarettes are here!"
Camel immediately grabbed market share in the competitive cigarette industry, quickly becoming associated as a manly smoke. This initial success was followed up with one of the longest lasting, and affective marketing messages the tobacco industry has seen - "I would walk a mile for a Camel". However simple, the message and the advertisements based on it would be used by RJ Reynolds for many decades - strengthening brand loyalty within Camel smokers.
After only 10 years after the brand introduction, Camel had gained 45% of the cigarette market, placing it along with the premier brands at the time - Lucky Strike, Chesterfield, Old Gold and Raleigh.
Success continued for Camel, and by 1940 the brand was the dominant cigarette sold on the US market. Also, Camel became one of 3 cigarette brands (the other two being Lucky Strike and Chesterfield) that where distributed to US servicemen in World War 2, creating immediate demand for the brand once the war was over.
The re-release of Marlboro as a men focused cigarette in 1954 did significant damage to Camel's market share - Camel lost its place as the definitive 'mens' smoke, and as such by 1970 had dropped off the top 5 cigarette brands list.
However, innovative marketing continued to be developed by RJ Reynolds for Camel. The release in 1987 of 'Joe Camel', a cartoon smoking camel, elevated Camel's position with the younger smoker by illustrating Camel's sophisticated and suave side. Troublingly, this message also appealed to under-age smokers - resulting in Joe Camel being as recognizable to 6 year olds as Mickey Mouse.
This prompted calls from doctors in 1989 and 1992 to remove the Smokey Joe character from advertising - requests RJ Reynolds ignored. Due to changed tobacco laws as a result of the Master Settlement Agreement, Smokey Joe was cancelled - along with his competitor, the Marlboro Man.
RJ Reynolds has also faced significant criticism regarding subtle sexual imagery placed in their advertising messages. A popular example is the belief that you can see a naked man in the leg of the camel in the traditional packaging, or that Smokey Joe's face resembles a large penis. As far as anyone can tell, such situations are coincidences.
From 2000, Camel has focused on increasing market share, and in February 2007 it was announced that Camel was introducing Camel No. 9 - a cigarette designed for women. RJ Reynolds sees this as an opportunity to change Camel's largely masculine image to increase profits for the company.
Today, Camel continues to be a historic brand in the world wide tobacco industry, and is currently a global drive brand for both its US producer, RJ Reynolds Tobacco and its international trademark owner, Japanese Tobacco International.
Varieties - Past & Present
- Subtle Flavou
- Orange
- Filters
- Lights
- Ultra Lights
- Smoothes
- No. 9 (Menthol and Regular)
- Natural Flavour
- Wides Filters
- Wides Lights
- Wides Menthol
- Wides Menthol Lights
- Menthol
- Menthol Lights
- Regular
- Helander Rare
- Camel Lights
- Special Lights
- Turkish Jade
- Turkish Jade Lights
- Turkish Silver
- Turkish Gold
- Turkish Royal
Exotic Blends - Recently canceled due to MSA
- Samsun
- Basma
- Cinnzabar
- Twist
- Crema
- Izmir Stinger
- Rare
- Rare Menthol
- Dark Mint
- Mandarin Mint
- Mandalay Lime
- Aegean Spice
- Bayou Blast
- Beach Breezer
- Margarita Mixer
- Midnight Madness
- Back Alley Blend
- Kauai Kolada
- Twista Lime
- Warm Winter Toffee
- Winter Mocha Mint
- Snake Eyes Scotch
- BlackJack Gin
- ScrewDriver Slots
References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camel_cigarettes
http://constantshop.com/
http://www.snopes.com/business/hidden/camel.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlboro_%28cigarette%29
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/15/business/media/15adco.html?ex=1329195600&en=c045bad9ce514593&ei=5090&partner=rssuse