Camel Starts Career Promoting Cigarettes
Barnum and Bailey had a camel in their traveling circus, and Richard Joshua Reynolds had a new product. Although the camel, Old Joe, was a difficult model he still became a trademark in 1913.
The R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company introduced camel cigarettes in 1913. The market was full of competitors, but camel relied on a slick advertising campaign from the start. For some inexplicable reason Joe the camel has become a dangerously endearing icon, and all because the flavor of the day back in 1913 was the sensational P.T. Barnum and Bailey Circus. The camel icon was a natural choice because of it’s arabesque and exotic connotations, the headlining “old Joe” was chosen to be the model for their symbol. It just happened to be that the circus was in town, Reynolds sent one of his employees down to get some pictures for an ad campaign associated with his new product.
The camel, old Joe, was not a very polite model. He displayed some very threatening behavior toward the photographer, who was afraid of the camel. He flicked his tail and aggressively tossed his head about. The photographer called his photographs “indignant” and disliked the final shot that was chosen to be printed on billions of camel cigarette cartons and packs.
Some sources say the slogan “I’d walk a mile for a Camel” came from a homeless guy. A Reynolds Co. sign painter was outside and had a conversation with a “hobo” and ended up giving the guy a camel cigarette. It was this unnamed “hobo” who exclaimed that later famous phrase.
Make sure you know, The Surgeon General has determined that cigarette smoking is dangerous to your health! The American public was about to be introduced to foreign tobacco. The North Carolina based company introducing this new imported Turkish tobacco with its new and exotic flavors needed a friendly icon to gain appeal. It seems the camel icon was a good choice, old Joe camel has been one icon that has persisted.
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Nice read, thanks again.