 | |
| Product type | Cigarette |
|---|---|
| Owner | Imperial Tobacco |
| Produced by | ITG Brands British American Tobacco (outside of the U.S.) |
| Country | United States |
| Introduced | 1933 |
| Markets | See Markets |
| Previous owners | Brown and Williamson |
| Website | kool.com |
Kool (stylized as KOOL) is an American brand of menthol cigarette, currently owned and manufactured by ITG Brands LLC, a subsidiary of Imperial Tobacco Company. [1] Kool cigarettes sold outside of the United States are manufactured by British American Tobacco.
In 1931, Brown and Williamson launched "Penguin" as an unfiltered 70-millimeter "regular" menthol cigarette, [2] with a package featuring "a Penguin with its beak raised and its heavy wings raised in a sort of mid-flourish." [3] In 1933, the brand was renamed Kool, though it retained the as-yet unnamed penguin mascot. [2] [4]
Kool enjoyed continued success through the 1950s, with a 1953 Roper survey showing that two percent of white Americans and five percent of African Americans preferred the Kool brand. [5]
Growing public concern about the health risks associated with smoking prompted Brown and Williamson responded to release filtered varieties of Kool: an 85-millimeter "king-sized" version in the 1960s, followed by a 100-millimeter or "long" version in the 1970s.[ citation needed ] The 1980s saw the introduction of Kool lights and a loss of market share to other menthol brands, such as Newport.[ citation needed ]
In 2003, Brown and Williamson purchased the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, making Kool a Reynolds brand. [6] The iconic green and white pack, virtually unchanged for some seventy years, was overhauled, and the original unfiltered Kool cigarette was discontinued. These changes did little to boost sales.[ citation needed ]
In 2015 a merger between Reynolds American and the Lorillard Tobacco Company brought the Kool brand into the Imperial Tobacco Company portfolio of properties. [7]
Kool cigarette advertising began with the character of "Willie" the penguin, [8] [9] who was portrayed as several different professions, among which were a doctor, a soldier and a chef. [10] [11] In the early 1950s, the company placed a number of decal signs at entrance doors reading "Come in... it's Kool inside", indicating that the space was air-conditioned. [12] [13]
In the early 1960s, the image of the cartoon penguin was no longer used, and Kool instead began marketing their cigarettes by linking the taste of menthol to outdoor scenes portraying water or snow. [14] Elaine Devry and John Clarke (actor) featured in Kool's advertisement at this time, as the female smoker whose day was improved by a passer-by who changed her car's flat tire. This was decades before whistleblower Jeffrey Wigand exposed Brown and Williamson's deliberate lacing of their tobacco with harmful substances.
In 1971, Kool initiated an advertising campaign where consumers could mail order a Snark sailboat with the Kool logo on the sail—for $88 (later $99) along with one Kool carton flap—including delivery. The sailboats retailed at the time for $120. As one of Kool's highest scoring ads, the company received over 18,000 orders for "Sea Snarks" in 1971. [note 1]
During the 1970s and 1980s, Kool sponsored jazz festivals and many advertisements from the era featured a musician or an actor, playing a saxophone. Also, Kool was notoriously targeted to African-Americans, as were many menthol cigarettes. [17] In 1975, Kool held a sweepstakes with a Rolls-Royce Corniche as the prize.
At one time also Kool sponsored a hot-air balloon, [18] which went on tours.
Kool was the main sponsor of Team KOOL Green in the CART series from the 1997 season until the 2002 season. In 2002, after the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement passed, Kool cigarettes could not be displayed on the cars for the IRL's Indianapolis 500, and the logo was replaced with 7-Eleven. [19] [20]
Kool cigarettes are mainly sold in the United States, but also were or still are sold in Canada, Honduras, Antigua, Bahamas, Jamaica, Chile, Colombia, Argentina, Germany, France, Switzerland, Spain, Japan and Australia. [21] [22] [23] [24] The Estonian Patent Office denied permission for the Kool trademark to be used in Estonia because the name means "school" in the Estonian language.[ citation needed ]
Kool is available in the following styles in the United States:
Previously, Kool XL, a wider cigarette, was available.
Joe Camel was an advertising mascot used by the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR) for their cigarette brand Camel. The character was created in 1974 for a French advertising campaign, and was redesigned for the American market in 1988. He appeared in magazine advertisements, clothing, and billboards among other print media and merchandise.
Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation was a U.S. tobacco company and a subsidiary of multinational British American Tobacco that produced several popular cigarette brands. It became infamous as the focus of investigations for chemically enhancing the addictiveness of cigarettes. Its former vice-president of research and development, Jeffrey Wigand, was the whistleblower in an investigation conducted by CBS news program 60 Minutes, an event that was dramatized in the film The Insider (1999). Wigand claimed that B&W had introduced chemicals such as ammonia into cigarettes to increase nicotine delivery and increase addictiveness.
Virginia Slims is an American brand of cigarettes owned by Altria. It is manufactured by Philip Morris USA and Philip Morris International.
Pall Mall is a British brand of cigarettes produced by British American Tobacco.
Benson & Hedges is a British brand of cigarettes owned by American conglomerate Altria. Cigarettes under the Benson & Hedges name are manufactured worldwide by different companies such as Rothmans, Benson & Hedges, Philip Morris USA, British American Tobacco, or Japan Tobacco, depending on the region. In the UK, they are registered in Old Bond Street in London, and were manufactured in Lisnafillan, Ballymena, Northern Ireland, before production was moved to Eastern Europe in 2017.
Capri is an American brand of cigarettes. It is currently owned and manufactured by the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.
Newport is an American brand of menthol cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. The brand was originally named for the seaport of Newport, Rhode Island.
Nicotine marketing is the marketing of nicotine-containing products or use. Traditionally, the tobacco industry markets cigarette smoking, but it is increasingly marketing other products, such as electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products. Products are marketed through social media, stealth marketing, mass media, and sponsorship. Expenditures on nicotine marketing are in the tens of billions a year; in the US alone, spending was over US$1 million per hour in 2016; in 2003, per-capita marketing spending was $290 per adult smoker, or $45 per inhabitant. Nicotine marketing is increasingly regulated; some forms of nicotine advertising are banned in many countries. The World Health Organization recommends a complete tobacco advertising ban.
Salem is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by ITG Brands, a subsidiary of Imperial Tobacco, inside the U.S. and by Japan Tobacco outside the United States.
Viceroy is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in the United States and British American Tobacco outside of the United States.
Kent is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in the United States and British American Tobacco elsewhere. The brand is named after Herbert Kent, a former executive at Lorillard Tobacco Company.
Doral is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.
Winston is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by ITG Brands, subsidiary of Imperial Tobacco in the United States and by Japan Tobacco outside the U.S. The brand is named after the town where R. J. Reynolds started his business which is Winston-Salem, North Carolina. As of 2017, Winston has the seventh-highest U.S. market share of all cigarette brands, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Maxwell Report.
The Snark is a line of lightweight sailboats, the most popular of which is the two-person, lateen-rigged sailboat Super Snark manufactured and marketed by Meyers Boat Company of Adrian, Michigan. The Snark was initially marketed by Snark Products, Inc. of Fort Lee, New Jersey and has been marketed with numerous slight variations, most prominently as the Sea Snark, Super Snark and Super Sea Snark. Other Snark models include the Sunchaser, and the Sea Skimmer. Among discontinued Snark models are the Triumph trimaran, the Mach I, the Sundancer and the Sea Swinger.
A menthol cigarette is a cigarette infused with the compound menthol which imparts a “minty” flavor to the smoke. Menthol also decreases irritant sensations from nicotine by desensitizing receptors, making smoking feel less harsh compared to regular cigarettes. Some studies have suggested that they are more addictive. Menthol cigarettes are just as hard to quit and are just as harmful as regular cigarettes.
Merit is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Philip Morris USA in the United States and Philip Morris International outside the United States.
Old Gold is an American brand of cigarette owned and manufactured by the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.
Tobacco marketing targeting African-Americans refers to the practice of customizing tobacco products and advertising techniques specifically to African-American consumers. It is most commonly analyzed through the consumption of mentholated cigarettes, as it represents 47% of black adult smokers and 84% of adolescent black smokers.
Maverick, is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by ITG Brands, a subsidiary of Imperial Tobacco.
The history of nicotine marketing stretches back centuries. Nicotine marketing has continually developed new techniques in response to historical circumstances, societal and technological change, and regulation. Counter marketing has also changed, in both message and commonness, over the decades, often in response to pro-nicotine marketing.
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1Australia only; 2Brands of Habanos, a 50:50 joint venture between Imperial Tobacco and Cubatabaco ; 350% share; 4formerly, "Commonwealth Brands" | |||||||
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