Who remembers those Tareyton smokers with the black eyes? “Us Tareyton smokers would rather fight than switch” became one of those advertising lines you didn’t have to smoke to recognize
The campaign began in 1963 and was created at BBDO by advertising legend James Jordan, who later gave us other memorable lines including Wisk’s “Ring Around the Collar.” The idea was simple: Tareyton smokers were so loyal to their brand that they would supposedly take a punch before switching cigarettes. The black eye made the joke instantly recognizable, although I think we can all agree the imagery hits a little differently today.
It worked. Company records show Tareyton sales jumping from 16.1 billion cigarettes in 1964 to 18.5 billion in 1965, while its market share increased from 3.2 to 3.6 percent. By 1967, Tareyton still controlled more than half of the charcoal-filter segment.
The slogan became bigger than the product. MAD magazine spoofed it, politicians borrowed it, and a young Martha Stewart even appeared in Tareyton advertising before any of us knew her for decorating or cooking.
Television cigarette advertising ended in January 1971, so Tareyton’s black-eyed “unswitchables” continued primarily in print. Internal tobacco-industry histories show the main campaign being discontinued in 1976, although versions of the famous slogan lingered afterward.
Do you remember the Tareyton commercials — and did you ever hear someone use “I’d rather fight than switch” without even thinking about where it came from?
