Cigarette Ads on TV: A damned shame they’re banned.
By The Editors
PlannedMan

When Richard Nixon banned cigarette advertising on TV, he also killed off a brilliant cinematic art form. Once you click here to see a few of these ads, you'll wish they could keep making more.

Cigarette Ads on TV: A damned shame they’re banned.

Highlights


It's been a half-century since Nixon blew away the smoke of cigarette advertising.

But don't worry. According to the CDC, billions are still spent on cigarette advertising aimed at the 14% of American adults still puffing.

It was no April Fool’s Day joke:

On April 1, 1970, President Richard Nixon signed a bill that made cigarette ads on TV and radio illegal.

 In 1970, Richard Nixon made cigarette ads on TV and radio illegal

On December 31, 1970, an ad for Virginia Slims was the last cigarette ad ever to appear on TV in the US, and it was seen at 11:50 pm on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson:

Regardless of what you think of cigarettes and smoking, these two dates in history also killed off one of the modern era’s greatest art forms: the cigarette ad on TV.

They were filled with sex:

And more sex:

And humor:

And fights:

And a Marlboro Man who was not a cowboy:

And, believe it or not, a minute-long drama about which cigarette is preferred by more doctors after a long day of saving patients’ lives:

 

 

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