1/26/16

Lucky Strike - A random string of gibberish means fine tobacco!

Poor cigarette advertisers. They have a tough job: Try to sell a product with no practical purpose, and one that which, when used properly, will ruin your health. So that leaves them with no option but to appeal to your irrational child-brain, and every kid loves rhymes, right?

In 1950, people had more time on their hands. This ad was on the back of LIFE magazine. So, it probably spent some of its time lying on coffee tables with this ad facing up. So, presumably,  people could be expected to spend six minutes mentally sorting out the jumble of images and disconnected thoughts that make up this ad. It's mostly random people spewing cigarette-themed nursery rhymes should do the job. And, don't forget to make them look so happy they're almost scary.



 Lucky Strike seems to understand the appeal of super simple rhymes, hoping they'll get stuck in your head. So, why then did they settle on "L.S./M.F.T." as their signature slogan? It's even got a slash in it, making it as catchy as the average internet URL. In their ads, the voice over guy chants it like he's trying to teach it to you. That's because he's trying to teach it to you. It's that catchy!










So what's with that sloppy little painting of a rabbit? Maybe back in '50 he must have been some kind of mascot that was so recognizable he needed no introduction?









Best of all is this startling postman. It's left to him to somehow weave the company's cumbersome slogan into a rhyme of some sort. He's up to the task, though, because he's hopped up on goofballs... and Luckies. He's got the energy to do is rounds, and still have enough juice left over to spend a few hours looking in your windows.










Imagine opening your mail slot to find these eyes staring back at you (see below). L.S./M.F.T. means "Stab You in the Eye With a Fucking Corkscrew."


This postman's got more work to do. He deserves a space in your hard drive's Nightmare Clip Art collection. Here he is with his mail pack filled in, after being cut off by the edge of the magazine cover. He can point and leer at just about anything you want now. Right click him into a nice dark folder where you can keep an eye on him, or just torture him like he deserves, with all the tools MS Paint has to offer. You're welcome!


Click for big.


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