L&M x The Ascension

L&M.

Between 1954 and 1955 L&M ran a campaign that professed the health benefits behind their “Miracle Tip” filters, despite doing next to f*ck all in terms of reducing smoking hazards.

Tobacco chemists were aware this claim was b*ullshit, but L&M persisted to advertise its filter as “pure white inside, pure white outside for cleaner, better smoking”. By implying the pure whiteness of the filter equates to full healthfulness, L&M successfully conned concerned smokers into choosing L&M as the “safe” cigarette.

L&M also portrayed their filter as futuristic and more advanced through the “Live Modern” campaign, associating their Miracle Tip as a “Modern Miracle”.

Further ads by L&M solidified their (false) health superiority, such as the “just what the doctor ordered” campaign.

Implying your brand of cigarette is favoured by doctors was very common in the 50s, as it acts as a testament to the brands supposed healthfulness.

What's funny is that none of those campaigns ever used real doctors, just actors and models posing as physicians. Doctors couldn’t openly endorse cigarette brands the same way singers, actors and athletes could at the time.

The Ascension.

The Ascension (1828-1830) by Domingos Sequeira is based on the Christian teaching where Christ ascended into Heaven in the presence of eleven of his apostles. I’m not sure who those 11 fellas are in this painting, however I guess they are the more detailed of the bunch.

I don’t really know much else about this painting beside that it looks cool and I wanna put turn it into a cigarette poster.

The Poster.

Deciding on a religious painting was rather obvious given the “Miracle Tip” slogan and campaign. I changed the slogan to be more religious than the original “just what the doctor ordered” phrase as it helps further communicate that the L&M filter is the answer to health-conscious smokers. 

Taking a more literal sense, the L&M packet looks as if it's descending from heaven, acting as a true miracle to all those below that are yet to have their morning dart.