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While the “Mild As May” campaign of the company was a major glop, the rugged cowboy that took its place soon had the profits soaring and eager smokers were looking at Marlboro to provide them with a sense of the Old West, when men were still men – in charge of nature, subduing it, working had, and also playing hard. After a few decades this was no longer enough for the legions of new and younger smokers who might not necessarily buy into this little slice of Americana, but fortunately the company had clever marketers who would find a new way of approaching the young.
As the popularity of the Marlboro Man waned, Philip Morris soon began offering Marlboro cigarette coupons which entitled the bearer to become a part of Marlboro Country, where she or he could accumulate miles that then could be redeemed for merchandise. Jackets, hats, t-shirts, bags, duffel bags, wallets, bears, and a whole lot of other popular items – all prominently displaying the Marlboro logo – could be had if the faithful smoker saved up the Marlboro cigarette coupons that were printed onto each pack of Marlboro smokes next to the bar code. The goal of the advertising campaign was to not only offer smokers a sense of belonging, but to also help them to see a secondary value to the brand they were smoking, namely that of tangible goods. Yet with the backlash of the antismoking movement that has resulted in a variety of smoking bans in the United States, these kinds of Marlboro cigarette coupons and promotions have been phased out. The same is true for the print ad cigarette coupons for Marlboro smokes that used to be available in magazines. This leaves the Internet which is still a fertile ground for those in search for a free coupon for Marlboro cigarettes. While the goods of the catalog are not available, the fact that Marlboro cigarette coupons are now printable and useful to defray the costs of the smokes has wide appeal to the computer literate generation of today. Yet while many have gone to search for Marlboro cigarette coupons and print online, it appears that the era of Marlboro cigarette coupons which could be redeemed for merchandise and gear has passed. At this point in time, the only Marlboro cigarette coupon worth printing is the one that shaves a dollar or two off the price of a pack of smokes.
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