The Advertising of Yesterday Part XVIII

We have all heard the phrase, "You can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl." Salem was obviously attempting to work this into their "You can't take the country out of Salem" campaign. As a stand alone concept, this 1970 ad in Outdoor Life falls horribly short.



An A is given for effort though. Here is a 1970 TV commercial from the same campaign.



So what exactly is this campaign all about? This video on TobaccoVideos.com does a better job of explaining what this "country" concept is all about.

"Super king size Salem the extra length cigarette with a taste that's country soft, country fresh" “Salem gently air-softens every puff…” "Take a puff its springtime."

8 to 10 years prior, in the 60's it was all about how Salem "Freshens Your Taste." Notice they didn't say, freshens your breath. You have to admit, the jingle was fairly well done. And did you see the technological breakthrough that Salem offers in their cigarette paper? Yep, your smoke was softened with fresh air through their "special paper."

OK, I get it now. Salem is as fresh as the country air. Well maybe some country. I know around here you sometimes get wafts of pig manure and/or cattle lots. They must be talking about Wisconsin or Minnesota.

My how times have changed.