In 2014, one of Prince’s appropriated works (which cribbed from a different Marlboro-commissioned photographer) realized $3.7 million at a Christie’s auction.
He eliminated the photographs’ commercial context and hung them in a gallery setting, making the images “art” in a way that Clasen’s work for Marlboro never was. Prince never credited the original photographers (though, notably, the original advertisements hadn’t either). He rebranded the advertisement work as his own “Untitled (Cowboy)” series. Enamored with their simple, evocative depiction of an American archetype, he photographed the ads himself, enlarging them and cropping out the text. In the mid-1970s, artist Richard Prince was working at Time Life Publications (now Time Inc.), combing through publications daily, when he began to see artistic potential in the Marlboro Man advertisements. “I think anybody saw that campaign over those years realizes it’s the only campaign of its time that created art for their ads.” He has no qualms about contributing. “This was an opportunity to work for the most iconic campaign maybe in advertising history at this time,” he said. Times, “at least four actors who have played in ads have died of smoking-related diseases.”)Ĭlasen, however, doesn’t smoke. Today, Marlboro rakes in $23 billion worldwide, selling products that are, of course, poisonous. The scheme helped the company become the #1 tobacco brand in the world in 1972, a position it’s retained ever since. The Marlboro Man campaign became one of the world’s most successful advertising ploys, running nationally from 1955 until 1999. “I’ve lived there, I’ve been around them all my life, and I think that was coming through in all my photos,” he told Artsy. Advertisements would feature ranchers, or actors posing as ranchers-the ultimate symbols of the (mythical) tough, independent, American (white) male.Ĭlasen believes he got the job because of his easy rapport with the cowboy subjects and the Western landscape itself.
The cigarette company, which had previously focused on women smokers with its “Mild as May” slogan, wanted to rebrand itself as rugged, masculine, and strong. The agency liked his work enough to hire him instead. The original photographer dropped out of the project, so Clasen did a test shoot. That same day, Norris called up Phillip Morris, which owned the Marlboro brand - and he quit.In the late 1970s, the famed Leo Burnett advertising agency hired Clasen to scout locations for a new campaign it was executing for Marlboro cigarettes. “He always told us kids, ‘I don’t ever want to see you smoking,’ so one of us finally asked, ‘If you don’t want us smoking, why are you doing cigarette commercials,” Bobby said. Norris quit the business suddenly - after realizing he was setting a bad example for his two daughters and two sons Why don’t you come back next week and if you’re serious, we’ll talk.’ They came back the next week.” “He said, ‘Well, I’m kind of busy right now. “They walked out of their car, these guys in their pinstripe suits, and they walked up to Dad and they said, ‘How would you like to be in commercials for Marlboro cigarettes?” the son told the station.
The original Marlboro Man died this week at his Colorado Springs ranch at the ripe old age of 90 - likely because he never actually smoked cigarettes.īob Norris was an actor, rancher and dad who played the role of a smoking cowboy on billboards, TV and the pages of magazines for 12 years.Īd execs first tracked the rugged Colorado native down at his 63,000-acre Tee Cross Ranches in Pueblo, after seeing a photo of him in a newspaper, alongside his longtime pal John Wayne, his son, Bobby, told WKYT in Colorado Springs. Philip Morris to debut e-cig with real tobacco Philip Morris could stop selling cigarettes Tobacco stocks plunge as FDA eyes nicotine clampdown Original Marlboro Man's Colorado home listed for $8M after his death
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