Camel Cigarettes

"I'd Walk a Mile for a Camel" - The History behind the Brand

Much has been said over the years about one of the most spectacular marketing campaigns in the history of tobacco industry in USA. In 1913, RJR introduced the first prepackaged cigarettes in the form of Camel. It was a blend of two distinct flavors: Virginia tobacco and Turkish tobacco.

The name "Camel" was a reference to the then-popular Egyptian cigarettes, but it soon managed to earn an identity of itself. Following a very complex advertising campaign, RJR introduced Camel on the market. By doing this, he basically changed the face of tobacco industry. Here's why:

• Until 1913, the idea of smoking prepackaged cigarettes wouldn't appeal to many people. Back then, smokers preferred to roll their cigarettes by themselves.
• Prepackaged cigarettes raised the medium price of tobacco, but that didn't stop people from buying them.
• The idea of blending two strikingly different types of tobacco in order to create a mild blend (as opposed to most brands on the market at that time that were rather harsh) became one of the basic principles in the tobacco industry of the 20th century.

This was followed by a different strategy, which focused on tradition. When innovation becomes tradition, we generally expect it to last for a limited period of time; however, this wasn't the case of Camel cigarettes. Very few things changed in the history of the brand from the beginning of the last century, and, even so, the brand remained extremely popular.

Variations on the same theme were produced, but the concept was unchanged: Camel is about a spectacular, unique mix between two very different types of tobacco. Only in the first decade of the 21st century, Camel was rebranded to meet the expectations and tastes of contemporary smokers. But the original taste can still be enjoyed if you buy the regular pack of Camel cigarettes.