Lucky Strike
Encyclopedia : L : LU : LUC : Lucky Strike
Lucky Strike is a brand of American cigarettes, often referred to as "Luckies".
History
The brand was introduced by R.A. Patterson of Richmond, Virginia in 1871 as a cut-plug chewing tobacco and later a cigarette. In 1905, the company was acquired by the American Tobacco Company (ATC), and Lucky Strike would later prove to be its answer to R.J. Reynolds' Camel.In 1917, the brand started using the slogan "It's Toasted", instead of “Lucky Strike Green has gone to war”, meant to inform consumers about the manufacturing method in which the tobacco is toasted rather than sun-dried. Because of a different manufacturing process, Lucky Strike cigarettes have a unique and distinctive flavour. The message "L.S.M.F.T." ("Lucky Strike means fine tobacco") was introduced on the package in the same year.
In 1937, ATC began to sponsor The Lucky Strike Hit Parade radio program, hosted by North Carolina tobacco auctioneer Speed Riggs. The weekly radio countdown catapulted the brand's success and would remain popular for 25 years. The shows capitalized on the tobacco auction theme and each ended with the signature phrase "Sold, American".
The brand's signature dark green pack was changed to white in 1942. In a famous advertising campaign that used the slogan "Lucky Strike Green has gone to war", the company claimed the change was made because the copper used in the green color was needed for World War II. American Tobacco actually used chromium to produce the green ink, and copper to produce the gold-colored trim. A limited supply of each was available, and substitute materials made the package look drab. Many argue that the white package was introduced not to help the war effort but to lower costs and to increase the appeal of packaging among female smokers.
In the early 1960s, Lucky Strike's television commercials featured the slogan "Lucky Strike separates the men from the boys....but not from the girls" set to music. When Luckies with filters were introduced in the mid-1960s, print and TV ads featured the slogan "Show me a filter cigarette that delivers the taste, and I'll eat my hat!" (usually sung to music on TV). Print ads showed smokers wearing hats from which a "bite" was supposedly taken, whereas TV commercials broke away from the smoker who issued that challenge, then came back to show the same smoker wearing a hat from which a "bite" was taken.
In 1978 and 1994, export rights and U.S. rights were purchased by Brown & Williamson. In 1996, filtered styles were launched in San Francisco, but it was not until 1999 were they available all over the United States. This cigarette is made with Turkish tobaccos.
The Lucky Strike logo was created by famous industrial designer Raymond Loewy, who also created the logos for Exxon, Shell and Coca Cola. The logo later became a prominent fixture in Pop-era artist Ray Johnson's collages.
Lucky Strike was the sponsor of Jack Benny's television program in the 1950s on CBS. Lucky Strike was also the major sponsor of BAR Honda in Formula One racing. The cigarette brand is also patronized in the anime Cowboy Bebop, where character Faye Valentine is often seen with one in her mouth. The logo also makes prominent background appearances.
XM Satellite Radio & CBS/Free FM's Opie and Anthony take aim at Lucky Strike on a regular basis. In a Humphrey Bogart-style voice, Anthony (Cumia) makes fun of the 40's/50's era along with the product placement of Lucky Strike cigarettes and the brand's upper class appeal.
Trivia
- redirect
Another urban legend states that the reason why the packaging was changed during World War II, to white with a red circle, was to honor America's bombing of Japan, with the new packaging signifying the Japanese flag.
Some smokers use to believe that a pack of "Luckies" can actually bring them luck. A ritual has emerged involving turning one cigarette upside-down in a fresh pack, followed by selecting one cigarette at random, where a selection of the upside-down cigarette would indicate good luck.
A reference is made in the song "All You Can Ever Learn Is What You Already Know" by The Ataris. The line goes "Trailer parks/neon signs/and an empty box of Lucky Strikes/all used up from the dashboard of America". Another musical reference is in the song "Kentucky Avenue" from the album Blue Valentines by Tom Waits: "I got a half pack of Lucky Strikes man, come along with me."
External links
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.