Advertisement for Lucky Strikes from the "Torches of Freedom" campaign.
Credit: Public Domain | ©Public Domain
The Torches of Freedom Campaign: Marketing, Feminism and Lucky Strike Cigarettes
It was the Roaring Twenties, the Jazz Age. It was a time of great social change. After decades upon decades of fighting women had finally gotten the vote, but they still faced discrimination elsewhere. Much had changed, but much had stayed the same.
One man, George Washington Hill, president of American Tobacco, was worried about one social norm which had remained in place: it was illegal for women to smoke outside. In 1922, for instance, there was a famous incident where a woman was arrested in New York City for daring to light a cigarette on the street.
Hill would not be considered much of a feminist, but he knew when he was not reaching all the customers he could. Women had a desire to smoke, but were only allowed to smoke in the privacy of their own homes.
Thus it was that in 1928 George Washington Hill hired Eddie Bernays to expand his customer base for Lucky Strike cigarretes, particularly among women. Bernays hired a psychologist by the name of A.A. Brill, to find out what it was that drew women to smoking.
Brill informed Bernays that in his view, cigarettes for women were a form of liberation, a sign of the new, free woman. Cigarettes were seen as something for men, and were a phallic symbol, for women then smoking was a sign of new feminine power as they took on roles which had traditionally been for men elsewhere: the vote they had just achieved, taking on men's jobs, etc. From this Bernays crafted his idea for the "Torches of Freedom" campaign.
Torches of Freedom
March 31, 1929. It was a big day in New York City, the day of the Easter Parade. A woman by the name of Bertha Hunt and several other women stepped into a crowd of people all wearing their Sunday best and lit cigarettes, at that time not only completely socially unacceptable.
It just so happened that the press was there as Hunt and her friends were lighting up. Miss Hunt began explaining to the press how she had been told to extinguish her cigarette the other day, and how she had devised the idea of lighting up with her friends at the parade as a protest. The cigarettes were "torches of freedom," a new step in the march towards equality of the sexes.
One man, George Washington Hill, president of American Tobacco, was worried about one social norm which had remained in place: it was illegal for women to smoke outside. In 1922, for instance, there was a famous incident where a woman was arrested in New York City for daring to light a cigarette on the street.
Hill would not be considered much of a feminist, but he knew when he was not reaching all the customers he could. Women had a desire to smoke, but were only allowed to smoke in the privacy of their own homes.
Thus it was that in 1928 George Washington Hill hired Eddie Bernays to expand his customer base for Lucky Strike cigarretes, particularly among women. Bernays hired a psychologist by the name of A.A. Brill, to find out what it was that drew women to smoking.
Brill informed Bernays that in his view, cigarettes for women were a form of liberation, a sign of the new, free woman. Cigarettes were seen as something for men, and were a phallic symbol, for women then smoking was a sign of new feminine power as they took on roles which had traditionally been for men elsewhere: the vote they had just achieved, taking on men's jobs, etc. From this Bernays crafted his idea for the "Torches of Freedom" campaign.
Torches of Freedom
March 31, 1929. It was a big day in New York City, the day of the Easter Parade. A woman by the name of Bertha Hunt and several other women stepped into a crowd of people all wearing their Sunday best and lit cigarettes, at that time not only completely socially unacceptable.
It just so happened that the press was there as Hunt and her friends were lighting up. Miss Hunt began explaining to the press how she had been told to extinguish her cigarette the other day, and how she had devised the idea of lighting up with her friends at the parade as a protest. The cigarettes were "torches of freedom," a new step in the march towards equality of the sexes.
The Torches of Freedom campaign was the first instance of psychology being used in a public relations/marketing campaign.
Comments
Rachel
(Guest)
(Guest)
12/07/2008
The Century of the Self is an excellent documentary on this, and other marketing coups performed by Eddie Bernays.
It's possible that this article is simply written by a misinformed, patronizing man, who truly believes that society "allowing" women to smoke in public is a great step forward for women's liberation. To think this, of course, is a grave insult to women all over the world, (less so in North America than in most other countries) who suffer from violent physical, emotional and sexual abuse, who are lesser people in society, and who would likely be furious if someone offered them the "equal rights" cigarette.
It's also possible that Allen Butler is a paid marketing rep.
Your name
(Guest)
(Guest)
12/07/2008
The Century of the Self is an excellent documentary on this, and other marketing coups performed by Eddie Bernays.
It's possible that this article is simply written by a misinformed, patronizing man, who truly believes that society "allowing" women to smoke in public is a great step forward for women's liberation. To think this, of course, is a grave insult to women all over the world, (less so in North America than in most other countries) who suffer from violent physical, emotional and sexual abuse, who are lesser people in society, and who would likely be furious if someone offered them the "equal rights" cigarette.
It's also possible that Allen Butler is a paid marketing rep.
torches of freedom is not womans liberation.. that
(Guest)
(Guest)
04/05/2008
the philosophy behind "the torches of freedom" was to give woman a weak feeling of empowerment through doing a so called "man's activity". Yes, it is unfair for woman to be prohibited from doing what they want to do.. I am not for sexist, or racist laws.. But definatly not a climax in the woman's liberation movement, unless you are a tooth decayed, cackling marge simpson..
torches of freedom is not womans liberation.. that
(Guest)
(Guest)
04/05/2008
This is not a high point in woman's liberation..
it is a high point in advertising.. !
Which lead on to telling woman.. to dress a certain way to be loved.. to wear pounds of makeup. to be a domestic cookie cutter loaf of wonderbread..
Please edit this article.. rewrite.. rethink it.. it's too serious of a topic to be misinformed about..
Best Regards
Danielle Demos
myspace.com/owldreams
ps i wrote this quickly so forgive the typos..
and here's a link to the documentary "century of the self" -
(.. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8953172273825999151 ..)
The history and evolution of post industrial, heart manipulating, advertisement ..
the philosophy behind "the torches of freedom" was to give woman a weak feeling of empowerment through doing a man's activity. Yes, it is unfair for woman to be prohibited from doing what they want to do.. I am not for sexist, or racist laws.. But definatly not a climax in the woman's liberation movement, unless you are a toot
torches of freedom is not womans liberation.. that
(Guest)
(Guest)
04/05/2008
torches of freedom was a propanda escapade carried out by edward bernay-- the think tank behind the department of public relations,, in the 1930s. Edward Bernay was a pioneer in population control through propaganda.. he worked with the ciggarette companies to create a publicity stunt..
watch the bbc documentary century of the self..
whoever wrote this article is not seeing the full picture and leaving out key aspects of this campaign. It is foolish to consider this a huge step in woman's liberation.. to be granted the right to smoke up their lungs in public- for the benefit of profit for a ciggarette company.. This is not a high point in woman's liberation..
it is a high point in advertising.. !
Which lead on to telling woman.. to dress a certain way to be loved.. to wear pounds of makeup. to be a domestic cookie cutter loaf of wonderbread..
Please edit this article.. rewrite.. rethink it.. it's too serious of a topic to be misinformed about..
Best Regards
Danielle Dem
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