The History of Cartoon Cigarette Advertising | Mascot Snapshot

From Kool Penguins to Joe Camel, let's check out the history of cartoons used to advertise cigarettes through the years.

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Software/Hardware Used:
iPad pro 12.9" with Apple Pencil
Astropad
Adobe Animate CC
Procreate
Final Cut Pro

[W-Forms]

•is coughing
* uses a kool smoke *
• [ *COUGHING INTENSIFIES* ]

[TakumaMimura]

Years ago, I read a rare interview with Nicholas Price in Juxtapos Magazine (an art magazine). Fun fact, he was not a smoker and had never touched cigarette. In part of the interview he mused about the morality of himself taking work for a product that he himself would never use when it came to his health.

[kylemendoza]

When I was a kid. I thought Joe Camel was Alf.

[willrobbins]

My parents both smoked cigarettes since the mid 70's when they where teens and I'm sorry to say that I picked up the habit just based on what they did and what they bought not because a camel in sunglasses told me to but over all this video was very informative regardless

[tobyradloff]

The Doral ads first appeared in 1971, after cigarette commercials were taken off TV and radio. It expanded on Doral's "Taste Me! Taste Me! C'mon And Taste Me! Take A Puff And Let Me Do My Stuff" jingle.

[krisrhood]

It bothers me that people assume that cartoon characters are automatically assumed to be child friendly

[kirengelhardt]

My first thought is that cartoony lines and bright colors clearly work on adults as well as children, otherwise these forms of artwork would not be desirable in the first place as advertising for beer or cigarettes - my tastes were very different as a child so itʻs hard to imagine real cigarettes being any more palatable at the time than that sip of beer I tried as a kid, even though I enjoyed both by the end of high school.

I found this because a fb conversation about candy cigarettes got me remembering how I felt about Joe Camel as a little kid, and this video had a wonderfully curated mix of "I remember that!" things I only remember when Iʻm looking at them again, pertaining to that.

Sometimes I wonder how much Disney had to do with this impression that cartoons are for children, because it looks to me like that exists the most in the US, and before ʻSnow Whiteʻ, when cartoons were shorts before feature films instead of films themselves, there was no clear distinction being drawn that way between cartoons for children and cartoons for adults. Entertainment seemed overall geared for "the masses" in ways I think we no longer do, because they did not have the capabilities of being as specialized with it as we do now. I donʻt think we can go back to a model built around one theater per town, in a world where each member of the family has their own screen with a myriad of content to choose from, but I think we do need to recognize animation as a medium, instead of any indicator of content being presented via that medium. Puppets too. Otherwise itʻs like assuming a move is "for children" purely based on there being children in it in some way.

[martin_]

Lol I started with candy cigarettes but camels is my smoke of choice love this video very informative I used to collect c notes unfortunately they cancelled that promotion before I had a chance to cash in 😞

[masterflicks]

This was a good video for my sociology studies

[billypeep]

Kools were my first cigarettes then Marlboros and now my favorites Camel Crush Menthols

[jenky]

From a lifetime of unfortunate smoking, I would have to be honest and say that not one cartoon, picture or song made me think *"oh I need to go have a cigarette or buy some cigarettes"*
That being said, I'm glad they banned all of it. I also wish the tobacco companies weren't allowed to put chemicals into cigarettes that make you crave them on top of the already addictive nicotine.

Thank you sharing this with us.

P.S. I suffer from emphysema and wish I had never smoked. (still 4 to 6 cigs per day). 😡

[Davidwentworthart]

really interesting to hear the history of all this laid out in once place-- i only knew bits and pieces before :)

[dfx]

big proud of the intro I mean it grabbed my attention alright as for the ads. 3:43 if you can link that in the description or something ill kill for that clip. XD its just to good to me

[Trentonpage]

Well that sucks.
I've always knew and seen joe kool.
I seen pics of him at the drag strip in Thompson ohio

[jenniferburchill]

Thank you for this video... it really got me thinking.

[jacoblipkestudios]

You know, I've got a really weird opinion on this. I think banning Joe Camel or other cartoon mascots is wrong, because in the current world where most people are informed then it won't make much of a difference, and cartoons are not just for kids, plus its a form of art. I think the main factor of whether or not someone smokes is if a parent smokes combined with peer pressure. I for example didn't want to smoke, even though my mom did, but my friend really wanted to try smoking when we were like 14 so we did and it was great to me, and because it was in my household I could easily snag a few all the time, and I became addicted. But my mom is not to blame or anything, if anyone is then its my peer pressuring friends fault but still it was mine. But now I vape, legally too that was many years ago I'm 21 now. But because of all of this banning, and the fact that I like.making cartoons, I think Im going to make an anti-smoking, pro-vaping animation. The science backs up that its far safer than smoking, and I already make adult cartoons so I don't think it would be wrong. Awesome video too by the way, very in depth, I appreciate that.

[beagelnagel]

now they promote advertisements for medicine to treat the symptoms of smoke inhalation

[TygR]

Fleisher animation? I remember their "swing you sinners" toon

[billypeep]

Also this was a well informed video and the editing and audio is great keep it up!

[plushpg]

Wait? You designed art for a thc product for money? That is so dope, didn't know that was possible!?! <3