Tareyton

Tareyton is an American cigarette brand currently owned and manufactured by the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. The brand developed from Herbert Tareyton, an earlier non-filter cigarette sold with a cork tip and promoted with the line “There's something about them you'll like.” Tareyton was introduced in 1954 as a filtered version of the Herbert Tareyton product, removing the cork tip as cigarette filters became increasingly important to consumers in the late 1950s. Its filter uses a two-part construction consisting of fiber and activated charcoal. Although Tareyton was not primarily distinguished by market leadership or sustained mass popularity, it became unusually recognizable because of its advertising. Beginning in 1963, the brand used the slogan “Us Tareyton smokers would rather fight than switch!” The deliberately ungrammatical wording helped make the line memorable, while advertisements showed Tareyton smokers with black eyes. The bruises were presented as visual evidence of the smokers' supposed determination to defend their preferred cigarette rather than change brands. The campaign appeared in television and print advertising and continued through 1981. The brand's promotional history also included celebrity appearances and product-comparison humor. In 1966, Martha Stewart, then working as a model, appeared in a Tareyton print advertisement. Actor Lyle Waggoner appeared in a Tareyton television commercial during the same year. Later in the 1960s, commercials showed frustrated smokers attempting to place Tareyton's filter onto cigarettes from other brands. These executions supported a newer product-focused line: “If you could put Tareyton's filter on any other cigarette, you'd have a better tasting cigarette (but not as good as a Tareyton).” The original Herbert Tareyton brand was also promoted through cigarette cards in the 1930s, before the filtered Tareyton product was introduced. R.J. Reynolds subsequently produced poster and magazine advertising for both Herbert Tareyton and Tareyton. In its later market position, Tareyton remained available through internet sellers and specialty tobacco stores, but it was no longer sufficiently popular to be widely stocked in many conventional stores or to receive ongoing marketing and advertising support from R.J. Reynolds. The brand is therefore best understood as a still-produced, comparatively niche cigarette line whose strongest cultural legacy comes from its distinctive advertising rather than from current retail prominence.

Tareyton originated as a filtered extension of Herbert Tareyton, a non-filter cigarette associated with a cork tip and the advertising slogan “There's something about them you'll like.” The filtered product was introduced in 1954, at a time when filters were becoming more prominent in the cigarette market. Unlike the original Herbert Tareyton cigarette, Tareyton did not retain the cork tip. Its filter was designed in two parts, using fiber together with activated charcoal. The brand's predecessor had an earlier promotional history. During the 1930s, cigarette cards were used to advertise Herbert Tareyton. After the launch of Tareyton, the brand's commercial identity became increasingly dependent on advertising creativity. Its most recognizable campaign began in 1963 with the line “Us Tareyton smokers would rather fight than switch!” The wording was intentionally or conspicuously nonstandard, and the campaign paired it with images of smokers displaying black eyes. The visual joke suggested that loyal smokers would endure a fight rather than move to another cigarette brand. The slogan remained part of Tareyton's advertising through 1981 and became more historically prominent than the product's sales performance. Tareyton's advertising also used recognizable public figures and demonstrations of its claimed filter advantage. In 1966, Martha Stewart, who was then a model, appeared in a print advertisement. Lyle Waggoner appeared in a television commercial that year. In the late 1960s, other commercials presented comic attempts to attach a Tareyton filter to cigarettes from competing brands. These advertisements promoted the proposition that another cigarette would taste better if equipped with Tareyton's filter, while still asserting that it would not be as good as an actual Tareyton. R.J. Reynolds also commissioned poster and magazine advertisements for both Tareyton and Herbert Tareyton. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company is the brand's current owner and manufacturer. In its later commercial life, Tareyton remained available through online sources and specialty tobacco retailers. Its distribution became more limited, however, and the brand was no longer commonly stocked in many stores. R.J. Reynolds also ceased providing the level of active marketing and advertising associated with the brand's earlier decades. Tareyton consequently survives as a comparatively niche cigarette brand, while its black-eye campaign and unusual slogan remain its most notable contribution to American cigarette advertising history.

• 1981

  Signature slogan campaign ends

  [1]Tareytonen.wikipedia.org

  The black-eye campaign and its associated slogan were used through 1981.

• 1966

  Celebrity advertising appearances

  [1]Tareytonen.wikipedia.org

  Martha Stewart appeared in print advertising and Lyle Waggoner appeared in a television commercial for Tareyton.

• 1963

  Black-eye loyalty campaign begins

  [1]Tareytonen.wikipedia.org

  The brand introduced its signature “Us Tareyton smokers would rather fight than switch!” advertising platform.

• 1954

  Filtered Tareyton introduced

  [1]Tareytonen.wikipedia.org

  Tareyton launched as a filtered variation of Herbert Tareyton, without the predecessor's cork tip.

• 1930

  Herbert Tareyton promoted through cigarette cards

  [1]Tareytonen.wikipedia.org

  Cigarette cards were used to promote the non-filter Herbert Tareyton predecessor brand.

A distinctive American filtered-cigarette brand positioned around filter design, taste claims, and highly memorable, self-deprecating advertising. In its later life, it occupied a niche position in specialty and online tobacco retail.

• Cigarettes · 1954

  Tareyton filtered cigarettes

  The core Tareyton product is a filtered cigarette introduced in 1954 as a successor variation to Herbert Tareyton. It removed the earlier cork tip and used a two-part filter made from fiber and activated charcoal. Advertising emphasized the filter and associated taste claims, while the product's strongest long-term recognition came from its distinctive brand campaign.

• Non-filter cigarettes

  Herbert Tareyton

  Herbert Tareyton was the non-filter predecessor from which the Tareyton filtered brand developed. It was associated with a cork tip and was promoted in the 1930s through cigarette cards. Later R.J. Reynolds advertising covered both the Herbert Tareyton and Tareyton names.

• 1968Tareyton filter comparison campaign

  United States

  Late-1960s commercials humorously depicted smokers trying to attach a Tareyton filter to cigarettes from other brands and promoted the claim that the filter could improve their taste.

  Source
• 1966Celebrity print and television advertising

  United States

  Martha Stewart appeared in a Tareyton print advertisement, while Lyle Waggoner appeared in a television commercial.

  Source
• 1963Us Tareyton smokers would rather fight than switch!

  United States

  Television and print advertisements showed Tareyton smokers with black eyes, turning the idea of brand loyalty into a comic claim that smokers would endure a fight rather than switch cigarettes.

  Outcome. The campaign ran through 1981 and became the brand's defining cultural association.

  Source

• 1963

  Adopt loyalty-focused black-eye advertisingStrategy

  Background

  The brand sought a distinctive advertising identity beyond ordinary product claims.

  Action taken

  Tareyton launched the “rather fight than switch” slogan and depicted smokers with black eyes.

  Aftermath

  The campaign became the brand's best-known advertising property and continued through 1981.

  Source

• 1954

  Launch a filtered Herbert Tareyton variationProduct launch

  Background

  Filters were becoming more popular in the cigarette market, while Herbert Tareyton was an established non-filter product with a cork tip.

  Action taken

  A filtered Tareyton product was introduced without the cork tip used by Herbert Tareyton.

  Aftermath

  Tareyton became the filtered product associated with the Herbert Tareyton brand family.

  Source

• 1966

  Martha Stewart and Lyle Waggoner appear in Tareyton advertising[1]Tareytonen.wikipedia.org

  Campaign

  Martha Stewart appeared in a Tareyton print advertisement, while Lyle Waggoner appeared in a television commercial during the same year.

• 1963

  “Us Tareyton smokers would rather fight than switch!” campaign begins[1]Tareytonen.wikipedia.org

  Campaign

  Tareyton began the advertising campaign that used black-eyed smokers to dramatize loyalty to the brand. The slogan remained in use until 1981.

• 1954

  Tareyton introduced as the filtered successor to Herbert Tareyton[1]Tareytonen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  Tareyton was created as a filtered variation of the Herbert Tareyton non-filter cigarette, omitting the earlier product's cork tip.

• Tareyton continues as a niche R.J. Reynolds brand[1]Tareytonen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The brand remains produced by R.J. Reynolds and is available through internet sellers and specialty tobacco stores, although it is not widely stocked in many stores and no longer receives significant ongoing brand advertising.

1. 1Tareytonen.wikipedia.org