Marlboro sponsorship in Champ Car (also known as ‘CART’ and ‘IndyCar’ at that time) dates back to 1986. The Penske cars in the Indy Racing League (IRL) currently run in Marlboro’s distinctive red and white colors. In 2006, a Marlboro sponsored car won the Indianapolis 500. For the 2007 season, Marlboro had ended their sponsorship of the Penske Cars. The Penske team will retain the color scheme. Where ‘Marlboro Penske’ appeared on the side of the cars, ‘Team Penske’ replaced it. Although Marlboro does not sponsor Team Penske, Philip Morris USA is still Team Penske’s main sponsor.
Marlboro also sponsored the Australian Marlboro Holden Dealer Team from 1974 through to 1984. The Marlboro branding gave rise to some of Australia’s most prominently recognizable race cars such as the L34 and A9X Torana, as well as the VK Group C “Big Banger” Commodore.
In Motorcycling Grand Prix, Marlboro sponsored the Yamaha team in 500cc and 250cc class. Marlboro currently sponsors the Ducati MotoGP. As of the 2009 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, they are only allowed to put the Marlboro brand the bikes in Qatar.
Marlboro also has a long history in rallying sponsorship, including with the factory World Rally Championship teams of Toyota, Mitsubishi, and Peugeot. During the 2007 GP2 Series Season, ART Grand Prix was also sponsored by Marlboro.
Marlboro are generally credited as being among the most important of sponsors to the world of Formula 1 (and motor racing in general) in terms of the amount of financial backing given to various competitors. In mid 2006, special “racing editions” of Marlboro Red were sold in the UK, with a Ferrari inspired design, although the Ferrari name and badge were not used.
List of Marlboro brand varieties change change source US varieties
- Marlboro Red Pack
- Marlboro Red Pack 72’s
- Marlboro Red Pack 100’s
- Marlboro Red Label (Medium)
- Marlboro Red Label 100’s (Medium)
- Marlboro Gold Pack (Light)
- Marlboro Gold Pack 72’s (Light)
- Marlboro Gold Pack 100’s (Light)
- Marlboro Silver Pack (Ultra Light)
- Marlboro Silver Pack 72’s (Ultra Light)
- Marlboro Silver Pack 100’s (Ultra Light)
- Marlboro Blend No. 27
- Marlboro Virginia Blend
- Marlboro Virginia Blend 100’s
- Marlboro Special Blend Red
- Marlboro Special Blend Red 100’s
- Marlboro Special Blend Gold
- Marlboro Special Blend Gold 100’s
- Marlboro Menthol
- Marlboro Menthol 72’s
- Marlboro Menthol 100’s
- Marlboro Menthol Blue Pack (Mild)
- Marlboro Menthol Blue Pack 72’s (Mild)
- Marlboro Menthol Blue Pack 100’s (Mild)
- Marlboro Menthol Gold Pack (Light)
- Marlboro Menthol Gold Pack 100’s (Light)
- Marlboro Menthol Silver Pack (Ultra Light)
- Marlboro Menthol Silver Pack 100’s (Ultra Light)
- Marlboro Menthol Blend No. 54
- Marlboro Menthol Blend No. 54 100’s
- Marlboro Menthol Smooth
- Marlboro Menthol Smooth 100’s
- Marlboro Black
- Marlboro Black Menthol
- Marlboro NXT
- Marlboro Edge
Snus
- Marlboro Rich
- Marlboro Amber
- Marlboro Spearmint
- Marlboro Peppermint
- Marlboro Windmill (Netherlands)
Non US varieties
- Marlboro Black Menthol Edge 8 (Japan)
- Marlboro Black
- Marlboro Black One
- Marlboro Black Menthol (Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia & New Zealand)
- Marlboro Blend No. 9
- Marlboro Bright Leaf (UK)
- Rooftop Red (Canadian Marlboro Filter)
- Rooftop Gold (Canadian Marlboro Light)
- Rooftop Silver (Canadian Marlboro Extra Light)
- Marlboro Cold Mint (Spain)
- Marlboro Compact (Europe) slightly shorter than standard cigarettes
- Marlboro Crisp Mint
- Marlboro Filter Plus (Russia and Bulgaria)
- Marlboro Filter Plus One (Russia)
- Marlboro Flavor Mix (Egypt)
- Marlboro Flavor Note (Germany)
- Marlboro Flavor Plus
- Marlboro Fresh (Sweden)
- Marlboro Fresh Mint
- Marlboro Frost
- Marlboro Gold (in countries where “light” isn’t allowed)
- Marlboro Gold Advance (Sweden, Norway, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, New Zealand)
- Marlboro Gold Edge
- Marlboro Gold Touch (Europe) slightly thinner
- Marlboro Ice Mint
- Marlboro Ice Blast (Singapore, Japan, and Hong Kong)
- Marlboro Ice Chill (Australia)
- Marlboro Ice Fresh (Brunei)
- Marlboro Intense
- Marlboro Kretex/Mix 9 (Indonesia)
- Marlboro MX4 Flavor (Europe)
- Marlboro Medium (Jordan)
- Marlboro Night Fusion
- Marlboro Wides (Europe, Japan)
- Marlboro Touch
References change change source
At least four marlboro men have died of smoking-related diseases – los angeles times
Healdsburg could soon be first city in california to raise minimum age to buy cigarettes
Wayne McLaren died of lung cancer in 1992 at age 51 after 25 years of smoking. His modeling job with Marlboro was followed by an anti smoking campaign that lasted until his death.
“I’ve spent the last month of my life in an incubator and I’m telling you, it’s just not worth it,” McLaren told a Los Angeles Times reporter from his deathbed in Newport Beach, where he lay with several tubes connected to his body.
After he died a week later, his mother, Louise, told The Times that some of McLaren’s last words were, “Take care of the children. Tobacco will kill you, and I am living proof of it.”
McLaren had waged an anti smoking war against Marlboro and its owner, Phillip Morris, complaining that the ads targeted kids, “the only target the companies have left.”
By the late 1990s, Marlboro’s ads were so effective and pervasive that one study suggested that more than 90% of schoolchildren knew who the Marlboro Man was.
Another Marlboro Man from California, David McLean, died of lung cancer at 73 in the UCLA Medical Center in 1995. His widow later sued Philip Morris, contending that McLean had to smoke pack after pack of cigarettes during Marlboro shoots so directors could create the perfect scene.
“During the taping of the commercials, David McLean was obligated to smoke Marlboro cigarettes,” the 1996 lawsuit said. “The commercials were very carefully orchestrated, and David McLean was required to smoke up to five packs per take in order to get the ashes to fall a certain way, the smoke to rise a certain way and the hand to hold the cigarette in a certain way.”
Years later, the McLean lawsuit was thrown out when a federal judge ruled that California law in those days, more protective of tobacco companies protected Phillip Morris from Lilo McLean’s claims. McLean was billed for the costs of the lawsuit.
A spokesperson for Phillip Morris did not respond to a request for comment from the Los Angeles Times for this story.
By the time the McLean lawsuit ran its course, the Marlboro Man campaign had concluded its decades long run in the U.S. media.
Cigarette use had continued a long plummet among Americans, which began with a groundbreaking 1964 U.S. Surgeon General report on smoking’s harmful effects.
But the Marlboro Man was finally finished off by the 1998 Master Settlement between tobacco companies and state attorneys general, which forbade the companies to use humans or cartoons on tobacco advertising in the U.S.
“The Marlboro Man will be riding into the sunset on Joe Camel,” Florida Atty. Gen. Robert Butterworth quipped to reporters after the deal was reached.
Lawson, the actor from San Luis Obispo, had done his part in later years to make up for the smoking ads that he’d done with Marlboro, at one point appearing in an anti smoking ad that parodied the Marlboro Man.
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