Leo Barnett and his Marlboro Man

November 7, 2007 Leo Barnett and his Marlboro Man

Leo Barnett devoted the most part of his 60 year old career to the creation of images. Creative spirit, permanent search, great desire to make the work good, to bring it to perfection became the main components of Barnett's success. Being a journalist, Leo Barnett worked as a reporter, copywriter, the worker of advertising agency. In 1935 during the Great Depression, when in the country economic recession took place and the unemployment rate was big, Barnett created his own advertising agency, now is known as Leo Barnett Worldwide.

In 1954 Leo Barnett began the starting of advertising campaign Marlboro Man of tobacco production from Philip Morris Company. Leo had a task to popularize cigarettes with filter, which was considered to be women cigarettes at that time. Advertising campaign, directed to men, had to change the slogan Mild as May and to be stamped in consumer consciousness as the image of tough manhood.

Leo Barnett has a professional habit to look about old newspapers and magazines. One day in one issue of Life journal Leo saw a picture of a cowboy, which inspired him to create Marlboro Man. Though several images of Marlboro Man existed, but the image of a cowboy turned out to be the most popular and became the main image in next advertising campaigns of Marlboro Cowboy and Marlboro Country.

Marlboro Man is a strong speechless cowboy in saddle against the background of inclement nature and American prairies. Archetype of courageous conqueror of Wild West found the response not only in American hearts, he made Marlboro the most sold brand in the world. And the advertising campaign of Marlboro Man was included in school books as the most successful one in the history of advertisement.