Light Up a Lucky - for Cash
Product placement is everywhere in the movies these days, but you will not be shocked to hear that tobacco companies were among the first to use product placement and celebrity endorsements to push their product, lethal as it is and was.
A British study of formerly confidential company documents showed that they paid big movie stars of the '30s, '40s and '50s to appear in ads and movies smoking, and to endorse the habit. Bette Davis, Henry Fonda, Joan Crawford and Gary Cooper were among them, each taking cash payments that would register in six figures tallied in today's dollars.
Seems like petty cash in exchange for risking your life, but as a former nicotine addict myself, I kind of understand. I guess back then there weren't as many warnings. Hell, doctors used to smoke.
Still, it's painful to read that John Wayne, who died of lung cancer, said cigarettes helped his voice.
Catherine Deneuve lights up after a press conference in Sydney. I think French people are still required to smoke. by Mike Flokis/Getty Images
Comments
The report by California researchers published in the British journal Tobacco Control lists stars’ names and cigarette endorsement payments, and explains what the studios got out of it: national advertising paid for by the tobacco companies. The Federal Trade Commission repeatedly investigated these campaigns. Hard to claim that cynicism did not prevail. So much for the glamor of smoking on screen. Check out the full text at this UC web site: http://www.smokefreemovies.ucsf,edu/earlyhollywood
Sorry, URL is:
http://www.smokefreemovies.ucsf.edu/earlyhollywood