History of Advertising

History of Advertising

ADVA205 P01

Professor Patty-Jo Bellami

June 16, 2015

Advertising and Culture

By:  Shemeca Greer

The Art Institute of Pittsburg

Online Division

Newport’s and African American Culture in the 1960s-1970

        The 1960s graphically demonstrated the elasticity of American capitalism. Corporate marketers began the decade by developing advertisements that catered to African Americans perceived interest in racial desegregation. By decade’s end, as African Americans moved politically from a more passive to a more confrontational stance, U.S. corporations promoted the “soul” market, which extolled black culture and customs, to retain the allegiance of black consumers.

For example, in the late 1960s, one widely used advertisement for cigarettes featured a dashiki-wearing black man with a copy that read, “Bold Cold Newport, a whole new bag of menthol smoking.” By the 1970s, so-called Blaxploitation films such as Super fly and Shaft became hugely successful by portraying the continuing inequality, the depravity of the white-controlled system, and the capacity of black man (and in a few cases, such a Foxy Brown, a black woman) to attain a version of personal integrity despite the corrupt system. Far from being suppressed or censored, rich, white producers lined up to produce more of them. The most important color to the producers was clearly green.

Newport cigarettes are known for their grate menthol taste. Yes, I’m African American Bi-racial, but I smoke Newport cigarettes, has this culture had an affect on me? Now I’m not suggesting you go out and buy a pack because they are addictive, and I’m trying to quit. I have chosen to analyze an ad for Newport cigarettes from the 1970s. Bold Cold Newport campaign. This advertisement communicates sociability and in-group belonging. The medias that are being used are images such as photos, drawings, etc. Mostly the mediums used to transmit these messages are found in magazines, Internet, and posters.

The product or service being advertised is menthol cigarettes. Who is selling the product or service? Lorillard Tobacco Company produces Newport brand. They are commercial ads. The goals of the advertisements are to sell the most cigarettes. The impact that these advertisements has had on the sales is one on one to young adults, but public relations which is not one-on one their number one consumers are African-Americans. Confidential industry documents, since leaked to the public, reveal Newport's comprehension of its target audience through its campaigning, which is still used today, but slightly different. A recent study has shown that 49.5% of all African-Americans are smoking Newport.

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