Happiness is a cigar called Hamlet

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"Happiness is a cigar called Hamlet" is one of the most famous British advertising campaigns for a tobacco product.

Contents

[edit] History

"Happiness is a cigar called Hamlet" was a long-running campaign for Hamlet Cigars, lasting on television until all tobacco advertising on television was banned in the UK in 1991[1]. They returned in cinemas in 1996, continuing there until 1999 [2]. Commercials used an excerpt from a jazzy rendition of Bach's Air on the G String, played by the then young Jacques Loussier, which is still frequently associated with the brand.[3]

The advertisements featured in television, radio and cinema commercials, various print media, and on billboards. The slogan and the entire campaign was created by the Collett Dickenson Pearce agency in 1966. The premise is that a man finds himself in an awkward or embarrassing situation and lights a Hamlet cigar. Lighting and smoking this cigar makes him smile and forget his woes. The campaign branched out from traditional advertising, even publishing a book of cartoons based on the idea.

These adverts were often mocked, most notably on The Kenny Everett Television Show.

[edit] Celebrity appearances

Numerous celebrities appeared in the adverts, including:

[edit] Recognition

  • The advert was listed as the eighth greatest television advert of all time by Channel 4 in 2000.[5] Coincidentally, the blocks from their 1980s IDs had featured in one of the ads, where after forming a 5 instead of a 4, the blocks "rewound" and reformed into a random structure that then morphed into a face which then smoked a Hamlet. [2]
  • The term has entered public consciousness and is sometimes used as a "don't worry about it" motto.[3]
  • The ad received a negative rating from Commercial Closet Association for its transphobic undertones.[4]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Tobacco Key Dates in the Campaign to ban Tobacco Advertising | ASH
  2. ^ Happiness.. WAS a cigar ad by Hamlet; CAMPAIGN GOES UP IN SMOKE | The Mirror
  3. ^ Brand Strategy. February 2006. "Orchestrating a sound strategy, Lesson Four: Be creative, be distinct and remember that nobody is listening!". Accessed 8 August 2006.
  4. ^ History of Advertising Trust Archive. "CDP: one of the greatest advertising agencies ever". Accessed 8 August 2006.
  5. ^ TheCustard.tv. "The 100 Greatest Television Adverts". Accessed 8 August 2006.

[edit] External links