Salem (cigarette)

Salem is brand of cigarettes introduced in 1956 by the RJR as the first filter-tipped menthol cigarette. Its name (along with that of the Winston brand) derives from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the city where RJR was founded and headquartered.

Not long after introduction of the product it became the target of a spoof in MAD Mazine, with the well-known phrase, "Sailem [sic] don't inhalem." cite journal
author = Gaines, William
journal = MAD Magazine
title = MAD (What, Me Worry?)
volume = 40
year = 1958]

In the late 1970s, the brand's slogan (sung to music in television and radio commercials prior to their prohibition on January 1, 1971) was "You can take Salem out of the country, but...you can't take the country out of Salem." Later, the slogan "Springtime... it happens every Salem" was used.

For decades Salem was one of the best-selling cigarette brands in the US, though in recent years it has been surpassed by other menthol brands such as Newport and Kool.

There are now two main varieties of Salem: Green Label and Black Label. The Green Label is marketed as being more smooth-tasting, while the Black Label is said to be stronger or "harsher" tasting.

The packaging for Salem was significantly revised in the late 1990s, with the addition of Black Labels which had sliding packs, and the inclusion of a single cigarette with a dark green filter, appropriately called "The Lucky" after the tradition of flipping the first cigarette in the box upside down and smoking it last.

In Japan, a "clean cigarette" was introduced in August 1995 by R.J. Reynolds and branded as "Salem Pianissimo", which was designed to reduce the odor of the cigarette, and generate a pleasant smell and taste in a society which holds cleanliness as a high attribute. [cf. Assunta and Chapman, "A 'clean cigarette' for a clean nation: a case study of Salem Pianissimo in Japan", 2004. The same product was prototyped in America, but many felt the "smokeless" tobacco tasted horrible, so the project was scrapped.]

When cigarette advertising on TV was banned in the United States, the comedy show Laugh-In spoofed how manufacturers might get their message across subliminally: "Let's take a coupla boats up to Newport and Salem."

Sponsorship

Until the early 2000s, Salem was a sponsor of the Hong Kong Open, an ATP tennis tournament, which attracted a number of top ranking professional players. As a result of the sponsorship, it was titled the "Salem Open". Salem also sponsored a number of events there including concerts throughout Asia. [cite web|url=http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/adgallery/index.php3?Brand=7|title=Tobacco Ad Gallery (tobaccofreekids.org):Salem]

In 2001, as with legislation restricting tobacco sponsorship in Hong Kong, the tournament sponsorship was proven to be controversial, when its official logo was altered to include the logo of Perrier, causing anti-smoking campaigners to claim that the organisers exploited a loophole in its sponsorship clause. [cite web|url=http://www.sportbusiness.com/news/139274/hong-kong-open-tennis-in-tobacco-controversy|title=HONG KONG OPEN TENNIS IN TOBACCO CONTROVERSY]

Salem has also introduced new light and ultralight variety cigarettes.

Advertising

* "Above it All"/"The Bright Mild Salem" (Salem cigarette jingle) (1986-1989, 1991-1995), "radio commercial only"

Notes

Bibliography

*Assunta, M., Chapman, S., [http://tc.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/13/suppl_2/ii58 "A 'clean cigarette' for a clean nation: a case study of Salem Pianissimo in Japan"] , Tobacco Control 2004;13:ii58-ii62.

External links

* [http://www.salemaccess.com Salem official website]