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Initially Marlboro brand appeared in 1924 and positioned itself as the first ladies’ cigarettes.

During these years, the fact of the sale of cigarettes to women was a cultural shock, just as if now there were made cigarettes specifically for toddlers.

Cigarettes intended for ladies found their place in the market due to suffragists who fought for universal suffrage. These ladies wanted equality in everything, including specific habits – and they got it.

For creative people of beginning of the last century, it was the great difficulty to create an absolutely feminine advertisement for a purely masculine product. Marlboro cigarettes were presented as feminine cigarettes. There was selected a purely feminine slogan: “Mild as May”. Hollywood star Mae West was invited to be the representative of the brand.

Packaging was focused on the ladies’ audience: filter with a strip of red color solved a double problem: to hide sloppy trail of lipstick and protect white teeth of women from yellowing.

The cigarettes with a filter, which included Marlboro cigarettes, were perceived by consumers solely as the ladies’ cigarettes, but after the terrible discovery of doctors this type of cigarettes began to look more secure for consumers.

Some time later the cigarettes manufacturers desired to dare to launch filter cigarettes for men – it seemed to be clearly a failure of marketing strategy. And, nevertheless, Philip Morris decided to take this step.

In order to change the concept of the filter cigarettes as a product “for girls”, there was needed a brilliant marketing decision, and Morris decided to invite one of the best American specialists of advertising – Leo Burnett. The future legend of advertisement decided to kill all female characteristics by using embodied masculinity.

A number of concepts invented by Burnett – “sea wolf “, “builder-climber”, “war correspondent” had to add a hefty dose of testosterone to Marlboro cigarettes. Yes, the first and foremost character was, of course, “Cowboy – the tamer of the prairie.”

And namely around this character Leo Burnett planned his advertising campaign of the future.

Firstly, cowboy set the record straight proving that cigarettes filter does not affect the taste of tobacco. Cowboy campaign in which model took part (later they were replaced by real cowboys) had incredible success.

Cowboy is the embodiment of the American spirit, shocked sensibilities of the consumers. Posters reminded of true heroes of America – brutal guys conquering wild steppe.