History[edit]

In 1913, R.J. Reynolds developed an innovation: the packaged cigarette.^[1] Most tobacco users who smoked cigarettes preferred to roll their own, and there was thought to be no national market for pre-packaged cigarettes.^[1]Reynolds worked to develop a flavor he thought would be more appealing than past products, creating the Camel cigarette, so named because it used Turkish paper,^[1] in imitation of then-fashionable Egyptian cigarettes. Reynolds undercut competitors on the cost of the cigarettes, and within a year, he had sold 425 million packs of Camels.^[1]

Camel cigarettes were originally blended to have a milder taste in contrast to brands that, at the time of its introduction, were considered much harsher. They were advance promoted, prior to official release, by a careful advertising campaign that included "teasers" which merely stated that "the Camels are coming"^[1] (a play on the old Scottish folk song, "The Campbells Are Coming"). This marketing style was a prototype for attempts to sway public opinion that coincided with the United States' entry into World War I, and later World War II. Another promotion strategy was the use of a Circus camel, 'Old Joe', which was driven through town and used to distribute free cigarettes. The brand's catch-phrase slogan, used for decades, was "I'd walk a mile for a Camel!"

The most famous historical style of Camel cigarettes is the soft pack of the regular, unfiltered variety (generally known as Camel Straights or Regulars). These were the first blend of Camels to be released. Camel regulars achieved the zenith of their popularity through personalities such as news broadcaster Edward R. Murrow, who smoked up to four packs of Camel regulars per day, in effect using a Camel cigarette as his trademark.^[2]

A 1915 Camels ad from The New York Times, offering a money-back guarantee and stating, "Premiums or coupons don't go with Camels, because the cost of the choice quality tobaccos makes it impossible for us to give them"

In late 1987, RJR created "Joe Camel" as the mascot for the brand. In 1991, the American Medical Association published a report stating that 5- and 6-year olds could more easily recognize Joe Camel than Mickey Mouse, Fred Flintstone, Bugs Bunny or even Barbie.^[3] This led the association to ask RJR to terminate the Joe Camel campaign. RJR declined, but further appeals followed in 1993 and 1994. On July 10, 1997, the Joe Camel campaign was retired and replaced with a more adult campaign which appealed to the desires of twenty-somethings to meet—or be—beautiful and exotic women in 1930s attire and themes.

In Europe, Camel is also a brand of cigarette rolling papers and cigarette roll-your-own tobacco. It maintains a top 20 level brand of RYO tobacco and papers in Northern Europe with yearly expansion into Southern and Eastern Europe according to the European Subsidiary's annual report.

On July 1, 2000, The cigarette known as the "Turkish" variety of Camel cigarette appears on the market. In 2000, Reynolds Tobacco introduced Camel Turkish Gold, a nonmenthol cigarette. In the summer of 2001, the company introduced Camel Turkish Jade, a menthol cigarette.

In 2005, Camel implemented new changes to the Turkish flavors by adding the name on the cigarette paper and changing the filter color and design. Also in 2005, Turkish Silvers were introduced. These serve as the ultra light version of the three Turkish blends. Turkish Royal serves as the "full flavor" version, and Turkish Gold serves as the "lights" version. A menthol version, Turkish Jade, was also part of the Turkish Blends but has since been discontinued. After burning, the text on the paper is often still visible on the ashes which is also seen in Camel straights.

Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the city where R.J. Reynolds was founded, is nicknamed "Camel City" because of the brand's popularity.

The Turkish tobacco that is used in Camel cigarettes has a much more distinctive odor when burned as compared to other cigarettes. It generally has a darker, browner smell to the smoke.^{[clarification needed]} Filtered Camel cigarettes sold outside the US by JT International do not contain Turkish tobacco, instead they are produced in Romania with local tobacco.

As of 2012, Camel is no longer R.J. Reynolds' most popular brand, now replaced by Pall Mall.^[4]

As of June 2012, Camel filters have been discontinued in the United Kingdom, with the exception of one store on Sidney Street in Cambridge due to continual record high sales since 2008. Camel Blue, the light version, are available from Tesco.

In 2013, Camel celebrated its 100th anniversary. Professor Robert N. Proctor of Stanford University commemorated the occasion with an editorial in the LA Times, noting that in the last century, Camel has sold over 4 trillion cigarettes.^[5]

The tobacco is mostly a blend of Samsun and İzmir Turkish tobacco and Virginia tobacco.

Marketing[edit]

Camel Natural Flavor — "smoking may reduce the blood flow and causes impotence".

The camel in the logo is of the dromedary variety. In languages other than English, a distinction is made between camels and dromedaries, so the name and image do not coincide. The Camel name and branding were chosen to evoke the perceived mystery and exoticism of the Middle East.^{[citation needed]}

Packaging in art[edit]

The Camel pack is featured prominently in Tom Robbins' 1980 novel Still Life with Woodpecker, billed as "a love story that happens inside a pack of cigarettes". The book's artwork is modeled after a pack of Camels, and the package artwork and history are discussed extensively in the book. It is also mentioned that a pack of Camels is the best friend you have in prison.

The cover of the band Camel's album Mirage resembles the cigarette packaging.

A stylized drawing of the Camel cigarette pack is used as the front cover of the 1971 album Choice Quality Stuff/Anytime by the San Francisco psychedelic band It's a Beautiful Day.

Background[edit]

The signature scene on most Camel cigarette packs shows a single dromedary standing on desert sand, with pyramids and palm trees in the background.

On the back of the cigarette pack is another desert scene, featuring this time bazaars and mosques. On European and some other non-U.S. versions, the desert scenes have been replaced by a health warning.

The overall design of the classic package sold in the US for decades is used in the following riddle, supposed to have been invented by doughboys in France 1917-18. The front of the pack is shown, and the question is asked " Where is the best place to stay in this desert?". Possible answers might be: the palm trees, since there is probably an oasis there, the pyramids, since they will have a shady burial chamber, the camel(next to), as it may be stopped at a tent - whatever the reply, the questioner will turn the pack around to show the back with the view of a Turkish building and say "Why not just go around the corner and stay at the hotel?"

Graphic design[edit]

Smoking billboard, Times Square, 1948.

The Reynolds company commissioned Fred Otto Kleesattel in 1913 to draw the original camel.

Known as "Fritz", Kleesattel was a highly sought after graphic designer living in Louisville, Kentucky. He was hired through his company, Klee Ad Art, to design the packaging for the new Camel cigarettes' line. Klee Ad Art was also integral in devising designs for Four Roses Distillery, Heaven Hill Distilleries, and many other now immediately recognizable U.S. brands. While serving in the U.S. Army during World War I, Kleesattel worked as a camouflage artist, disguising buildings, vehicles and other potential targets by making them blend with their surroundings. There are urban myths about subliminal images allegedly being hidden within the artwork of the camel, such as a 'Manneken Pis' - Brussels' most famous statue - which is supposed to be standing within the camel's front left leg. Other versions of the myth say the image is a naked woman. There are further rumors about the center design of the camel, supposedly showing a donkey doing something improper to a camel, or vice versa. None of this is confirmed by the company.

Package texts[edit]

The reverse sides of many packs or boxes of Camel cigarettes display variations of the following text:

Turkish tobacco is the world's smoothest, most aromatic leaf. Blending it with more robust domestic tobaccos is the secret to Camel's distinctive flavor and world-class smoothness.

In 2008, this was changed to:

A master-crafted blend of only the finest hand-picked Samsun & Izmir Turkish tobaccos with a robust domestic tobacco blend creates Camel's distinctive flavor and world-class smoothness.

The reverse side of the five "Turkish Blend" cigarettes display this message along with a description that differs depending on the blend:

Turkish tobacco is the world's smoothest, most aromatic leaf.

The reverse side of unfiltered "soft pack" Camel cigarettes has displayed this text for many years, a theme also used by R. J. Reynolds in its advertising as early as 1915:

Don't look for premiums or coupons, as the cost of the tobaccos blended in Camel Cigarettes prohibits the use of them.

This text is the subject of an old puzzle, in which someone is asked how many times the letter "e" is used in the phrase. The correct answer is "eleven", but many people will count it wrongly. This is due to a tendency to see the word "the" as a single character, and so miss the "e" contained in the word.

Or alternatively can be seen displaying the text (later removed from some packets with the introduction of health warning messages):

Camel, a premium blend of the finest quality tobaccos, provides genuine smoking pleasure.

The reverse side of unfiltered "soft pack" Camel cigarettes, produced by JT International reads:

CAMEL cigarettes contain a blend of choice Turkish and American tobaccos to bring you full smoking satisfaction with CAMEL quality.

Camel Wides, starting in 2008, began displaying this on the reverse side of the pack:

The larger gauge of a Camel Wides cigarette makes for the smoothest, most flavorful way to enjoy Camel's distinctive blend of the finest Turkish and Domestic tobaccos.

Joe Camel[edit]

Joe Camel was a controversial cartoon camel that primarily appeared in advertisements for Camel, but also appeared on "Camel Cash" and a number of origami Pop-up print ads. Joe Camel came under scrutiny as some considered use of the character to be advertising directed at children. Camel paid millions of dollars to settle lawsuits accusing them of using Joe Camel to market smoking to children.^[6] His image was removed from Camel Cash in July, 1997, and discontinued in advertisements.

Camel Cash[edit]

"Camel Cash", or "C-Note" (C-Note = 5 US cents), was a coupon stuck to the back of filtered varieties of Camel cigarettes. It was made to resemble currency and could be exchanged for items from the Camel Cash catalogue. It was accompanied by a message telling smokers not to look for premiums or coupons on the cigarettes.

The artwork changed many times over the years, and in the past included the face of Joe Camel, much in the same way as presidents are featured on American currency. Camel Cash redemption expired on March 31, 2007.

Motorsport[edit]

The Lotus 100T sponsored by Camel.

From 1972–1993, Camel was the title sponsor of the then-popular IMSA auto racing series, titled as Camel GT. From 1987 to 1990, Camel sponsored the Lotus Formula One team; and in the nineties, Camel sponsored the Benetton Formula One team and the Williams F1 team until 1993, Camel's last year as a sponsor in Formula One. In the early to mid-1990s, Camel sponsored the factory Honda team in the AMA Superbike series, as well as sponsoring the USHRA and AMA Supercross championships, resulting in the Camel Mud & Monster Series, and the Camel Supercross. In 1994 Winston Cup season of NASCAR, Camel sponsored Hut Stricklin's #23 Ford Thunderbird & In 1995-97 Winston Cup season's of NASCAR, Camel sponsored Jimmy Spencer's #23 Ford Thunderbird. From 2003-2005 Camel was the title sponsor of Sito Pons' MotoGP Team and then for the 2006 season Camel signed on to become the title sponsor ofYamaha's factory team, but due to European Tobacco Regulations, the company had to end their association with Yamaha at the end of the 2006 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season.

Break free adventure[edit]

In 2010, R.J. Reynolds planned to sell Camel packs showing one of ten locations to be visited by the Camel mascot, including Seattle, Washington; Austin, Texas; San Francisco, Las Vegas;New Orleans; Bonneville Flats, Utah; Sturgis, South Dakota; Route 66; and the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. The Winston-Salem package showed a tobacco field and the city's skyline, including the former R.J. Reynolds headquarters. During a ten-week period, visitors to a web site were asked to guess which city would be next. Matthew Myers, president of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, accused the company of targeting children once again, saying, "The new campaign cynically uses the names and images of trendy U.S. destinations … in an attempt to make Camel cigarettes cool again." David Howard of R.J. Reynolds emphasized the campaign was geared toward adults and pointed out only adults could access the website.^[7][8][9]

New York City health commissioner Thomas Farley and the National Association of Attorneys General both sent Reynolds letters asking that the campaign be stopped. The organization said that it violated the 1998 tobacco settlement. Reynolds denied that children were being targeted and said the campaign did not go against the settlement. Other cities and states also stated their objections including, among others, San Francisco and Seattle.^[9]

Varieties[edit]

A pack of Camel Signature Frost

Camel pack from the Netherlands celebrating 100 years of Camel.

Camel pack from Iceland. The label reads "smoking kills"

Camel cigarettes come in the following varieties:

USA varieties[edit]

Camel Non-filter
Camel Filters
Camel Filters Wides
Camel Filters 99's
Camel Blue (Lights)
Camel Blue Wides (Lights)
Camel Blue 99's (Lights)
Camel Platinum (Silver) (Ultra Lights)
Camel Platinum (Silver) 99's (Ultra Lights)
Camel Menthol (Crush)
Camel Menthol Silver (Lights)(Crush)
Camel Crush(Lights)
Camel Crush Bold(Full Flavor)
Camel Turkish Royal (Full Flavor)
Camel Turkish Gold (Lights)
Camel Turkish Silver (Ultra Lights)
Camel No. 9
Camel No. 9 100's
Camel No. 9 Menthe
Camel No. 9 Menthe 100's
Kamel Red
Kamel Red Smooth Taste (Lights)
Camel Wides
Camel Wides Menthol
Camel Wides Menthol Green(Lights)

Discontinued USA varieties[edit]

Camel Filter 100's
Camel Lights 100's
Camel Signature Infused
Camel Signature Frost
Camel Izmir Stinger
Camel Basma
Camel Dark Mint
Camel Mandarin Mint
Camel Samsun
Camel Cinnzabar
Camel Twist
Camel Screwdriver Slots
Camel Rare
Camel Turkish Jade
Camel Rare Menthol
Camel Mandalay Lime
Camel Aegean Spice
Camel Bayou Blast
Camel Beach Breezer
Camel Margarita Mixer
Camel Midnight Madness
Camel Back Alley Blend
Camel Kauai Kolada
Camel Crema
Camel Twista Lime
Camel Warm Winter Toffee
Camel Winter Mocha Mint
Camel Special Blend Lights
Camel Special Blend Lights 100's
Camel Signature Mellow
Camel Signature Robust

International varieties[edit]

Camel Big Orange 100's (Mexico)
Camel Big Peach 100's (Mexico)
Camel Big Red 100's (Mexico)
Camel Big Grape 100's (Mexico)
Camel Black (More than 20 countries, mainly in Europe)
Camel White (More than 20 countries, mainly in Europe)
Camel Super Lights (South Africa)
Camel Natural (South Africa)
Camel Classic (South Africa)
Camel Filters 100's (Mexico)
Camel Lights 100's (Mexico)
Camel Natural (Europe)
Camel Nutty Menthol (Japan)
Camel One (Ukraine)
Camel Orange (Medium) (Ukraine)
Camel Ultra Lights 100's (Mexico)

Canadian varieties[edit]

Camel Filters (gold/brown pack - 20 cigarettes)
Camel Light (blue pack - 20 cigarettes)

Additive-free varieties[edit]

Camel Natural Flavor 8
Camel Natural Flavor 6 *Lights*
Camel Natural Flavor 4 *Ultra Lights*

Menthol capsule varieties[edit]

These varieties contain a small bead in the filter filled with a menthol liquid. When crushed, the liquid is released into the filter giving the smoker an increased menthol flavor.

Camel Crush - Camel Light becomes a Camel Menthol Light
Camel Crush Bold - Bold becomes menthol
Camel Menthol- Adds an additional amount of menthol flavoring to the cigarette.
Camel Menthol Silver (Light) - Adds an additional amount of menthol flavoring to the cigarette.

Snus[edit]

Camel Mellow
Camel Robust
Camel Frost
Camel Winterchill
Camel Mint
Camel Original Portion (Sweden/Norway only)
Camel White Portion (Sweden/Norway only)

Dipping Tobacco[edit]

Camel Dark Milled (fine cut)
Camel Wintergreen Wide Cut (long cut)
Camel Wintergreen Pouches

See also[edit]

• Smoking
• Camel Trophy

References[edit]

1. ^ Jump up to:^{a b c d e} Burrough, Bryan (2003). Barbarians at the Gate. HarperCollins. pp. 40, 46.
2. Jump up^ Hilliard, Robert L. and Keith, Michael C. (2005). The broadcast century and beyond. Elsevier. p. 137. ISBN 978-0-240-80570-2.
3. Jump up^ Fischer PM, Schwartz MP, Richards JW Jr, Goldstein AO, Rojas TH, (1991-12-11). "Brand logo recognition by children aged 3 to 6 years". JAMA 266 (22): 266(22):3145–8. PMID 1956101. Retrieved March 6, 2007.
4. Jump up^ Craver, Richard (2012-09-26). "Reynolds to offer more menthol versions of Pall Mall cigarettes". Winston-Salem Journal.
5. Jump up^ Proctor, Robert (2013-10-20). "Camels: 100 years and still killing." Los Angeles Times.
6. Jump up^ "Reynolds will pay $10 million in Joe Camel lawsuit". USA Today. 1997-09-12. Retrieved 2010-11-23.
7. Jump up^ Craver, Richard (2010-11-15). "Camel promotion under fire". Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved 2010-11-23.
8. Jump up^ Wilson, Duff (2010-11-12). "Group Says Camel Packs Lure the Young". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-11-01.
9. ^ Jump up to:^a b Felberbaum, Michael (2010-12-01). "State AGs ask RJ Reynolds to stop Camel cigarette 'Break Free Adventure' marketing campaign". Star-Tribune. Associated Press. Retrieved 2012-11-01.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Camel (cigarette).

• Cigarette history with Camel in context
• Camel Cigarettes packs from Encyclopedia of Cigarettes
• Camel Crush – a story of success from TobaccoPub