A link from Arne Adolfsen on Facebook to this 1976 ad for Winston cigarettes:
(#1)
Length as a theme in cigarette ads was all over the place. Here, the ad has the guy saying that he doesn’t judge his cigarette by its length — but, still, he opts for a super king size cigarette, longer than king size, which in turn is longer than standard size, and he does that because he wants the extra length. The phallic content is unmistakable.
This was an old game for Winstons. An earlier ad:
(#2)
Then there were long cigarettes marketed specifically to women, again with suggestive ads. For instance, Eve cigarettes in this 1996 ad:
(#3)
Then there are More cigarettes. From Wikipedia:
More is a brand of cigarette which was originally marketed to both men and women and then changed its primary focus to women consumers. It typically has a dark brown (rather than the traditional white) wrapper and is typically 120 mm in length. The More brand does, however produce shorter versions with the typical white wrapper and white or cork filters.
Initially tested in Oklahoma City in 1974, the brand was introduced nationally by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in June 1975. Bridging the gap between cigars and cigarettes ‘More’ was the first successful 120mm cigarette. It had a strong flavor and when introduced was higher in “tar” and nicotine than most filter cigarettes on the market. It is sold in both the full flavor and menthol flavors. It is currently considered a niche brand by RJR, still sold, but not promoted by advertising.
But the prize in cigarette phallicity surely goes to Joe Camel, marketed with the slogans “Smooth” and “Smooth Character” and shown smoking a Camel in high-masculinity contexts, as here:
(#4)
Joe Camel (officially Old Joe [but popularly referred to as Genital Joe]) was the advertising mascot for Camel cigarettes from late 1987 to July 12, 1997, appearing in magazine advertisements, billboards, and other print media. (link)
Genital Joe was widely parodied, as here:
(#5)
Controversy over these ads’ enormous appeal to children (especially boys) led to their being discontinued in 1997.
