Lucky Strike
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Lucky Strike is a brand of cigarettes. The brand was first introduced by R.A. Patterson of Richmond, Virginia in 1871 as a cut-plug chewing tobacco and later a cigarette. In 1905, the company was acquired by the American Tobacco Company and would later prove to be their answer to R.J. Reynolds' Camel.
In 1917 the slogan "It's Toasted" was used. The slogan described the manufacturing process in which the tobacco is toasted rather than sun dried, which substantially affects the flavor. Also the message "L.S.M.F.T." (Lucky Strike means fine tobacco) was introduced on the package.
Later, in 1937, ATC began to sponsor The Lucky Strike Hit Parade emceed by NC tobacco auctioneer Speed Riggs. The weekly radio countdown catapulted the brand's success and would remain popular for the next 25 years. The shows capatalized on the tobacco auction theme and each ended with the signature phrase "Sold, American"
The brand's signature dark green pack was changed to white in 1942. In a famous advertising campaign that used the slogan "Lucky Strike Green has gone to war," the company claimed the change was made because the copper used in the green color was needed for World War II. American Tobacco actually used chromium to produce the green ink, and copper to produce the gold-colored trim. A limited supply of each was available, and substitute materials made the package look drab. As a result, the white package was introduced, not to help the war effort as claimed, but to lower costs and to increase the appeal of their packaging among female smokers.
In the early 1960's, Lucky Strike's TV commercials featured the slogan "Lucky Strike separates the men from the boys....but not from the girls" set to music. Later, this type of advertising was prohibited, as laws restricting tobacco advertising forbade cigarette advertising to include any references that cigarettes increased one's popularity, stamina, appeal, etc.
Later, when Luckies with filters were introduced in the mid 1960's, print and TV ads featured the slogan "Show me a filter cigarette that delivers the taste, and I'll eat my hat!" (usually sung to music on TV). Print ads showed smokers wearing hats from which a "bite" was supposedly taken, whereas TV commercials broke away from the smoker who issued that challenge, then came back to show the same smoker wearing a hat from which a "bite" was taken.
In 1978 and 1994, export rights and U.S. rights were purchased by Brown & Williamson. In 1996, filtered styles were launched in San Francisco, but it was not until 1999 that they were available all over the United States. This cigarette is made with Turkish tobaccos.
The Lucky Strike logo was created by famous industrial designer Raymond Loewy, who also created the logos for Exxon and Shell. The logo later became a prominent fixture in Pop-era artist Ray Johnson's collages.
Lucky Strike was the sponsor of Jack Benny's television program in the 1950s on CBS. Lucky Strike was also the major sponsor of BAR Honda in Formula One racing. The cigarette brand is also patronized in the anime Cowboy Bebop, where character Faye Valentine is often seen with one in her mouth. The logo also makes prominent background appearances.
An urban legend surrounding Lucky Strike is that one in every hundred cigarettes is actually a joint.bg:Лъки Страйк de:Lucky Strike es:Lucky Strike fr:Lucky Strike hu:Lucky Strike nl:Lucky Strike ja:ラッキーストライク pl:Lucky Strike sv:Lucky Strike