Tag Archives: tobacco advertising & sport

  • Teaser Tag: 1933 Tobacco Ad
1931-1940

“21 of 23 Giants”
…Smoke Camels

This full-page newspaper ad – with the New York Giants endorsing R.J. Reynolds’ Camel cigarette brand – appeared in the New York Times and other papers in early October 1933.
This full-page newspaper ad – with the New York Giants endorsing R.J. Reynolds’ Camel cigarette brand – appeared in the New York Times and other papers in early October 1933.
     In the annals of audacious tobacco advertising, the 1933 newspaper ad at right for Camel cigarettes ranks pretty close to the top.

Indeed, the claims and endorsements made in this ad seem pretty outrageous by today’s standards –stating, for example, that “21 of 23 Giants …smoke Camels.” In other words, an entire sports team – or very nearly that – was used in this ad to endorse the Camel cigarette brand.  And this was no ordinary team, but rather, professional baseball’s Word Series champions that year, the victorious New York Giants.

     Tobacco advertising in the 1930s was in its heyday – and from the 1920s through the 1950s there was little restriction on the over-the-top claims being made about tobacco’s safety or its human health effects.  This ad, in fact, suggested health benefits – i.e., “healthy nerves,” with several endorsing stars making similar statements.

     Baseball players and other sports figures had appeared in tobacco ads before, but in the 1930s their appearance in such ads became more common.  It was also in the 1930s that tobacco companies began depicting medical doctors in ads, touting the safety of cigarettes.  Still, to see an ad like the one shown here, invoking nearly an entire sports team to promote cigarette sales, and making health claims to boot, is pretty striking.  Yet this was a much different era, and health-effects knowledge was not what it is today.

Enlarged section from above ad showing pack of Camel cigarettes.
Enlarged section from above ad showing pack of Camel cigarettes.
     A few years prior to this ad, R. J. Reynolds, the producer of Camels, had fallen to No. 2 among  cigarette brands.  Lucky Strike,  a cigarette brand produced by the American Tobacco Co., was the No. 1. brand.  The competition for cigarette sales and market share had become keen.  It was in 1933 that R. J. Reynolds began using sports stars in its advertising.  Baseball was then the nation’s most popular professional sport, with more than 10 million people attending games annually.  Enlisting the World Series champs to your brand would indeed provide a helpful boost.  In 1933, however,  the Great Depression was ravaging the nation.

     Franklin D. Roosevelt had been elected president in the November 1932 elections, but was not sworn in until March of 1933, then the inaugural custom.  Roosevelt faced an unemployment rate of more than 23 percent, thousands of bank failures, and a GNP that had fallen by more than 30 percent.  FDR would launch his New Deal in the years that followed, with a flurry of actions and new agencies coming in 1933.

The official program for the 1933 World Series, depicting managers Joe Cronin of Washington, left, and Bill Terry of New York, right.
The official program for the 1933 World Series, depicting managers Joe Cronin of Washington, left, and Bill Terry of New York, right.
     Despite the hard times, there was optimism that a “Roosevelt recovery” was on the way.  Congress had also introduced a bill to repeal prohibition, meaning alcohol would flow again, as it did legally by year’s end.  Baseball, meanwhile, continued pretty much as it always had, though adding for the first time that July, an All Star game with the best players from National and American league teams in an annual game against one another.  Then that fall came the 1933 World Series.


1933 World Series

     The 1933 World Series pitted the National League’s Giants against the American League’s Washington Senators, also known as the Washington Nationals.  The Giants had 91 wins and 61 losses in the regular season that year, while the Senators had compiled a 99 – 53 record.  The Senators were the surprise victors of the American League that year, breaking a seven-year hold on winning the pennant by either the New York Yankees or the Philadelphia Athletics.

     The New York Giants’ venerable and long-standing manager, John McGraw, had retired the previous year, with the Giants’ regular first baseman, Bill Terry, taking on the manager’s job.  For the Senators, the equally venerable Walter Johnson, the famous pitcher, had also retired from managing in 1932, as the Senators’ regular shortstop, Joe Cronin, became their manager.  Both Cronin and Terry are shown at right on a game program from the 1933 World Series.  The World Series games that year were carried on NBC and CBS radio.

Oct 5 1933: Franklin D. Roosevelt prepares to throw ceremonial baseball at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C. at Game 3 of the 1933 World Series. Directly right of FDR is Washington manager Joe Cronin and New York manager Bill Terry. AP photo.
Oct 5 1933: Franklin D. Roosevelt prepares to throw ceremonial baseball at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C. at Game 3 of the 1933 World Series. Directly right of FDR is Washington manager Joe Cronin and New York manager Bill Terry. AP photo.
     When the Series moved to Washington, D.C. for Game 3 after the first two games had been played at New York’s Polo Grounds, President Roosevelt threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Griffith Stadium.

Throughout the Series, the Giants’ pitching proved the difference, with Carl Hubbell and Hal Schumacher turning in stellar performances. The Giants took the best–of-seven Series in five games, winning their first championship since 1922.

The final game of the 1933 World Series was played on Saturday, October 7th at Griffith Stadium, with the Giants winning 4-3. Mel Ott hit two home runs that game, the final one coming in the top of the tenth inning, providing the margin for victory. Two days later, the Camel cigarette ad shown above began appearing in newspapers around the country.


The Camel Ad

Enlarged baseball with Camels endorsement from ad above.
Enlarged baseball with Camels endorsement from ad above.
     The main headline in the Camel ad proclaims, “It Takes Healthy Nerves To Win The World Series,” with copy to follow that suggests cigarette smoking provided a beneficial help to the World Series victors.  An enlarged baseball directly left of the headline states, “21 out of 23 Giants – World Champions – Smoke Camels,” suggesting there must be some connection and/or advantage to smoking Camels and winning championship games, especially since nearly the whole team is involved.  A Giants team photo also appears at the top of the ad, followed below by a series of photos of individual Giants’ stars making Camel testimonials.  More on those in a moment.  At the bottom of the ad, is the company’s narrative message, which runs as follows:

Well, the returns are in.  Congratulations to the new World Champions—the Giants!  Rated by the experts as a hopeless contender, this amazing team, playing under inspired leadership, fought successfully through one of the hardest National League races in years. . .and again the under dog, went on to win the World Series.  It takes healthy nerves to play “better baseball than you know how.”  It takes healthy nerves to go on winning day after day through crucial series after series. . .delivering time after time in the pinches.  It means something when you discover that 21 out of 23 Giants smoke Camel cigarettes.  These men, to whom healthy nerves are all-important, have found that Camel’s costlier tobaccos not only taste better, but also they never interfere with training. . .never jangle the nerves.

New York Giants’ players featured in the Oct 1933 Camel ad: Bill Terry top, and from left, ‘Blondy’ Ryan, Hal Schumacher, Carl Hubbell & Mel Ott.
New York Giants’ players featured in the Oct 1933 Camel ad: Bill Terry top, and from left, ‘Blondy’ Ryan, Hal Schumacher, Carl Hubbell & Mel Ott.
     At the center of this ad, below the team photo and the enlarged baseball, photographs of five of the Giants’ players appear, each offering a sentence or two endorsing the Camel brand, beginning with Giants’ player/ manager Bill Terry, shown in the circular photo.  Considered one of the game’s greatest players, Bill Terry (1898-1989), was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1954. 

     Terry is most remembered for being the last National League player to hit .400, a feat he accomplished in 1930, hitting .401.  The Giants would retire Terry’s uniform No. 3 in 1984, and it is posted today at AT&T Park in San Francisco.  In the Camel ad, Terry, then team manager, is quoted as saying: “Great Team Work and healthy nerves carried us to the top.  A check-up of the team shows that 21 out of 23 of the World Champion Giants smoke Camels.”

Carl Hubbell would become one of the game’s great pitchers.
Carl Hubbell would become one of the game’s great pitchers.
     Next in the sequence of Camel endorsers, comes “Blondy” Ryan. John Collins Ryan (1906-1959) played shortstop in the major leagues from 1930 to 1938, and is remembered primarily for his fielding and excellent play in the 1933 World Series. Ryan was also ninth in MVP voting for the 1933 regular season. In the Camel ad, he is the first player shown on the left offering his testimonial.

“I long ago learned that Camels are the cigarette for me,” says Ryan in the ad. “I like Camels better, and they don’t get on my nerves.” 

Harold “Hal” Schumacher (1910-1993), one of the key Giants’ pitchers through the 1933 season and the World Series, comes next in the Camel ad: “I prefer Camels,” he says. “I am a steady smoker of Camels and they never give me jumpy nerves or a ‘cigarettey’ aftertaste.” Schumacher played with the Giants from 1931 to 1946, compiling a 158-121 win–loss record.  He was also a two-time All Star selection.

     Carl Hubbell (1903-1988), shown in the photo above right, was a valuable left-handed pitcher for the Giants and a key player in their 1933 World Series championship. Hubbell comes next in the Camel ad. “I can’t risk getting ruffled nerves so I smoke Camels,” he is quoted as saying. “I like their mildness and I know they won’t interfere with healthy nerves.” Hubbell played with the Giants from 1928 to 1943, and remained with the team in various capacities for the rest of his life, even after the Giants moved to San Francisco. Hubbell, a nine-time All Star, was twice voted the National League’s Most Valuable Player.  He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1947. Hubbell is also remembered for his appearance in the 1934 All-Star Game, when he struck out five of the game’s great hitters in succession – Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin – setting a longstanding All-Star Game record for consecutive strikeouts. Hubbell was the first NL player to have his number retired, which is also displayed at AT&T Park.

The New York Giants’ Mel Ott, one of baseball’s greatest hitters.
The New York Giants’ Mel Ott, one of baseball’s greatest hitters.
     Next in the line of five Giants’ players endorsing Camel cigarettes is Mel Ott (1909-1958), the hitting star of the 1933 World Series. In game 1 of that Series, he had four hits, including a two-run home run. In game 5, he drove in the Series-winning run with two outs in the top of the 10th inning, driving a pitch into the center-field bleachers for a home run.  “Jumpy nerves and home runs don’t go together,” Ott is credited with saying in the 1933 Camels ad. “So I stick to my Camels when I get a minute to enjoy a smoke.” Ott played his entire career (1926-1947) with the New York Giants as an outfielder. At 5′ 9″and 170 lbs, he was a surprisingly powerful hitter. He was the first National League player to surpass 500 home runs. In his 22-year career, Ott compiled a .304 batting average with 2,876 hits, 511 home runs, 1,860 runs batted in (RBIs), a .414 on base percentage, and a .533 slugging average.

     Key Celebrities.  Baseball stars such as Mel Ott and Carl Hubbell – and other famous athletes of that era – were among the most publicly-visible and sought-after celebrities of their day.  Broadway and Hollywood also had their share of stars, and these celebrities were also sought for product endorsements, including tobacco, and some of those are covered elsewhere at this website.  Still, the “celebrity factor” in the 1930s wasn’t quite as intense or ubiquitous as it is today, as there was no television, no internet, no “Dancing With Stars” or “American Idol”– and no 24-7 media machine.  In that era, in fact, World Series baseball stars were regarded as top-of-the-line celebrities, considered among the biggest “gets” of their day, prized by marketers. And as admired stars, they were also a key gateway to American youth, who no doubt tried tobacco products because their heroes endorsed them.

Following the 1934 World Series, with the St. Louis Cardinals as champions, a similar Camel advertising pitch was used.
Following the 1934 World Series, with the St. Louis Cardinals as champions, a similar Camel advertising pitch was used.
     St. Louis, Too. In the following year, 1934, the same “World Series baseball team” pitch for Camels was used again by R.J. Reynolds, this time featuring the 1934 St. Louis Cardinals, who won the Series that year. As in the Giant’s ad, the same “21-of-23-players-smoke-Camels” phrase was used, and five St. Louis players made endorsements, including” the famous pitching brothers, “Dizzy” Dean and Paul Dean; Joe “Ducky” Medwick, power hitter; and “Pepper” Martin and “Rip” Collins.

Player Manager Frank Frisch provided the set-up in this ad, also given a by-line as if reporting:

“They sure made it hot for us this year, but the Cardinals came through in great style clear to the end when we needed every ounce of energy to win. We needed it—and we had it. There’s the story in a nutshell. It seems as though the team line up just as well on their smoking habits as they do on the ball field. Here’s our line-up on smoking: 21 out of 23 of the Cardinals prefer Camels.” 

2012 book on the history of the cigarette catastrophe. Click for copy. See below Sources for other tobacco books.
2012 book on the history of the cigarette catastrophe. Click for copy. See below Sources for other tobacco books.
Pepper Martin added: “I like Camels because when I light one I can actually feel all tiredness slip away.” And Rip Collins claimed: “A Camel has a way of ‘turning on’ my energy. And when I’m tired I notice they help me to snap back quickly.” Dizzy Dean added: “A Camel sure brings back your energy after a hard game or when you’re tired, and Camels never frazzle the nerves.”

     R.J. Reynolds, for its part, was then engaged in a fierce advertising battle with American Tobacco for the top spot of the cigarette market, and its move in the 1930s to use baseball players and other athletes endorsing the Camel cigarette brand, helped the company regain its top-of-the-market position.

The public health establishment, meanwhile, has waged a decades long battle against the evils of tobacco, and in recent years some landmark litigation has uncovered documents that the tobacco industry has long known of the addictive and health-damaging effects of tobacco products. Yet the battle with big tobacco is still ongoing.

     For other stories at this website on athletes and advertising see, for example: “Vines for Camels, 1934-1935” (Ellsworth Vines, tennis star); “Babe Ruth & Tobacco, 1920s-1940s” (Ruth in tobacco ads); “Gifford For Luckies, 1961-1962” (Frank Gifford, football star, in cigarette ad); “Wheaties & Sport, 1930s” (cereal advertising with mostly baseball stars); “Vuitton’s Soccer Stars, June 2010” (celebrity advertising with soccer stars); and, “…Keeps on Ticking, 1950s-1990s” (Timex watch advertising with sports stars).  Thanks for visiting — and if you like what you find here, please make a donation to help support the research and writing at this website. Thank you. – Jack Doyle.


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this Website

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Date Posted: 27 October 2012
Last Update: 4 July 2019
Comments to: jdoyle@pophistorydig.com

Article Citation:
Jack Doyle, “21 of 23 Giants…Smoke Camels”
PopHistoryDig.com, October 27, 2012.

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Sources, Links & Additional Information

Tennis star, Ellsworth Vines, in 1934 Camel cigarette ad. Click for story.
Tennis star, Ellsworth Vines, in 1934 Camel cigarette ad. Click for story.
Football star, Frank Gifford, in early 1960s Lucky Strike cigarette ad. Click for story.
Football star, Frank Gifford, in early 1960s Lucky Strike cigarette ad. Click for story.

“It Takes Healthy Nerves to Win the World Series,” October 1933 New York Times advertisement, Stanford.edu, Page visited, October 2012.

“It Takes Healthy Nerves to Win the World Series,” TobaccoDocuments.org, Page visited, October 2012.

Gene Borio, “Tobacco Timeline: The Twentieth Century 1900-1949–The Rise of the Cigarette,” Tobacco.org.

Leah Lawrence, “Cigarettes Were Once ‘Physician’ Tested, Approved; from the 1930s to the 1950s, ‘Doctors’ Once Lit up the Pages of Cigarette Advertisements,” HemOncToday, March 10, 2009.

Tracie White, “Tobacco-Movie Industry Financial Ties Traced to Hollywood’s Early Years in Stanford/UCSF Study,” Stanford.edu, September 24, 2008.

“Not a Cough in a Carload,” Extensive On-Line Exhibit of Tobacco Ads, Lane Medical Library & Knowledge Management Center, Stanford.edu.

Advertisement, “It Takes Healthy Nerves to Win the World Series,” NewspaperArchive.com, Chester Times (Pennsylvania), October 9, 1933, p. 7.

Advertisement, “It Takes Healthy Nerves to Win the World Series,” Plattsburgh Daily Press (New York), October 9, 1933, p. 8.

“Bill Terry,” Wikipedia.org.

“Hal Schumacher,” Wikipedia.org.

“Carl Hubbell,” Wikipedia.org.

“Mel Ott,” Wikipedia.org.

Advertisement, “21 Out Of 23 St. Louis Cardinals Smoke Camels,” San Jose News, October 11, 1934, p. 3.

Advertisement, “21 Out Of 23 St. Louis Cardinals Smoke Camels, by Frank Fritch,” The Miami Daily News, October 11, 1934, p. 10.

Scott Olstad, “A Brief History Of Cigarette Advertising,” Time, Monday, June 15, 2009.

Fred Stein, Mel Ott: The Little Giant of Baseball, McFarland & Co. Inc., 1999, 240 pp.

Fritz A. Buckallew, A Pitcher’s Moment: Carl Hubbell and the Quest for Baseball Immortality, Forty-Sixth Star Press, 2010, 204 pp.

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  • Teaser Tag: The Tobacco Celebs
1931-1940

“Vines For Camels”
1934-1935

Tennis star Ellsworth Vines pitching Camel cigarettes in an October 1934 ‘Popular Science’ magazine ad.
Tennis star Ellsworth Vines pitching Camel cigarettes in an October 1934 ‘Popular Science’ magazine ad.
     In 1934, American tennis star Ellsworth Vines did some advertising for R.J Reynolds’ Camel cigarette brand.  He was 23 years old at the time, and was among the world’s best players. 

The magazine ad at right shows Vines in a full-page endorsement for the cigarette in his tennis attire, depicted as smoking a cigarette at the end of a tennis match. However, it is not known whether Vines in fact was a smoker, as endorsing stars often posed with cigarettes to do advertising, but were not actual smokers.

This ad, in any case, appeared in Popular Science magazine October 1934, and perhaps other publications as well.

     As this is written in mid-2010, it appears especially odd and out of place to see a tennis player hawking cigarettes — something about all those tennis “whites” and the game’s clean and healthy image. Plus today’s media offerings of young and vital tennis players, portray them as epitomes of health and model athletes. What’s more, having a cigarette after an exhausting tennis match is probably the last thing you’d expect a tennis player in current times to actually do, or espouse for anyone else to do.

Yet, in the 1930s — and through the 1960s in fact — athletes endorsing tobacco products was not uncommon. Tobacco companies recruited them as they did Hollywood film stars and other celebrities.

Ellsworth Vines, tennis star, featured on the cover of Time magazine, August 1, 1932.
Ellsworth Vines, tennis star, featured on the cover of Time magazine, August 1, 1932.
     Sports star association with tobacco products began in the late 19th century, when tobacco companies started enclosing small trading cards of baseball and other sports players in their cigarette and cigar packets (see Honus Wagner story, for example). The cards generally included a photograph or artist rendering of the popular players of the day. Movie stars and other famous people were also used on the trading cards. 

Tobacco companies in the late 1920s and 1930s also began striking deals with actors and film studios, generally trying to associate their product with the famous and well known — those seen as trend setters and having an influence on the general public. By then even some notable medical publications were enlisted for tobacco advertising. 

In November 1933, for example, the Journal of the American Medical Association published its first advertisement for cigarettes — Chesterfield — a practice that continued for 20 years. TAlso in 1933, Chesterfield began running ads in the New York State Journal of Medicine.  So, in the context of that era, seeing a tennis star in the 1930s with cigarette in hand did not seem out of place.

Ellsworth Vines in action at Wimbledon in 1932.
Ellsworth Vines in action at Wimbledon in 1932.
     Ellsworth Vines was at the peak of his tennis career when he did the Camel cigarette ad shown above.  In August 1932, he was featured on the cover of Time magazine and had become a national celebrity.  The text from the October 1934 Camel cigarette ad featuring Vines, beginning with the headline, reads as follows:

You’ll enjoy this pleasing “Energizing Effect”

When you’ve used up your energy – smoke a Camel and notice how you feel your flow of natural energy snap back.

This experience, long known to Camel smokers, has now been confirmed by a famous New York research laboratory.  Camel smokers enjoy a positive “energizing effect” …a healthful and delightful release of natural, vibrant energy.  A typical Camel experience is this, Ellsworth Vines, Jr. speaking —

“Championship tennis is one of the fastest of modern sports.  After four or five sets, you sometimes feel that you just can’t take another step.  That’s when a Camel tastes like a million dollars.  Not only does the rich, mellow fragrance appeal to my taste, but Camels have a refreshing way of bringing my energy up to a higher level.  And I can smoke all the Camels I want, for they don’t interfere with my nerves.”

So, whenever you want a “lift,” just smoke a Camel.  You can smoke them steadily.  For the finer, MORE EXPENSIVE TOBACCOS in Camels never get on your nerves.

CAMEL’S Costlier Tobaccos never get on your Nerves.  “Get a Lift with a Camel!”

Jack Crawford and Ellsworth Vines (right) greeting one another after a match at Wimbledon, 1932.
Jack Crawford and Ellsworth Vines (right) greeting one another after a match at Wimbledon, 1932.
     Ellsworth Vines was the world’s No. 1 ranked player, or shared that ranking, in 1932, 1935, 1936 and 1937.  He began playing tennis as a young boy of about eight years old.  As a freshman at Huntington Park High School in Pasadena, California began attracting attention, including that of Mercer Beasley, famed coach of Tulane University, who helped him develop his game.  Tall and athletic, Vines had also played freshman basketball at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.  But tennis was his sport.  By 1930, he was playing in and winning amateur championships.  By the summer of1931, he had won every tournament he entered, including the U. S. championship at Forest Hills.  In 1932, on successive days at Wimbledon he beat Jack Crawford of Australia and Henry Wilfred (“Bunny”) Austin of England setting the tennis world abuzz with his talent.  He turned professional at the age of 22.  In 1934 and 1935 he won almost all the major pro events.  In 1934, he bested Bill Tilden, 47 matches to 26 on a head-to-head tour.  In a 1938 competition with Don Budge, he also prevailed 49 matches to 35, four years later.

Ellsworth Vines in play vs. Henri Cochet of France at Wimbledon, May 7, 1933.
Ellsworth Vines in play vs. Henri Cochet of France at Wimbledon, May 7, 1933.
     When Vines was at the height of his tennis powers in the 1930s, he was “nearly invincible,” according to some accounts.  “Hell, when Elly was on, you’d be lucky to get your racket on the ball once you served it,” tennis star Jack Kramer would later write of Ellsworth.  “What galleries at Wimbledon and elsewhere like most about Vines’s game is its blinding speed,” wrote Time magazine about his play in August 1932.  He had a “cannonball serve,” noted Time, “which a good many players frankly say they cannot see…”  Vines won his last big tournament in October 1939, the U.S. Pro Championship at the Beverly Hills Tennis Club.  The following year, in May 1940, at 28 years old, Vines played his last competitive tennis match.  Although he had some physical ailments at the time, and wanted to spend more time with his family, Vines had also developed an increasing passion for golf.  In fact, he became a professional golfer in 1942 and over the years had a number of high finishes in tournaments, including victories in the 1946 Massachusetts Open and 1955 Utah Open.  He also had a semi-final position in the 1951 PGA Championship. Vines was twice in the top ten of golf money winnings, and according to another famous tennis player, Jack Kramer, “he was surely the best athlete ever in the two sports.”

In fact, in 2004, Vines’ son, Ellsworth Vines III, wrote a book about his father titled, The Greatest Athlete of All Time, a story he documented with letters and interviews with other sports figures and sports writers. Among the latter, Jim Murray of the Los Angeles Times, would say of Vines: “They didn’t make a game he couldn’t play. He went to college on a basketball scholarship and he hit a baseball so hard his high school coach used to say it didn’t come down for two innings. For one given game, he was probably the best who ever played the game of tennis, his talents were raw power. Athletes from other sports have invaded the golf field but Elly Vines didn’t just join the pro golfers; he beat them.”

Ellsworth Vines also appeared in this 1935 Camel cigarette ad (upper lefthand corner), which featured a range of athletes all endorsing the cigarette.
Ellsworth Vines also appeared in this 1935 Camel cigarette ad (upper lefthand corner), which featured a range of athletes all endorsing the cigarette.
     Ellsworth Vines also appeared in at least one other 1935 magazine ad for Camel cigarettes, this one depicting a range of athletes from different sports.  This ad, shown at left, is headlined, “We Asked Sports Champions,” who are then featured in a series of photographs, each offering a short sentence or two about why they like Camels.  Vines, shown in the upper lefthand portion of the ad, is quoted under the segment on “Flavor!” saying: “Camels taste like a million dollars!…That rich, mellow flavor appeals to my taste… And I actually feel a ‘lift’ from a Camel!”  Others in the ad, featured under respective Camel descriptors, are:  Helen Hicks, pro golfer under “Energy!”; Bill Miller, champion sculler, under “Value!”; Frank Copeland, billiard champion under “So Mild!”; and, finally, Harry “Stubby” Kruger, Olympic swimmer and water polo star, under “Healthy Nerves!,” who is photographed in Hollywood poolside where he is quoted saying: “I smoke a great deal and Camels don’t ever ruffle my nerves!”

     For additional stories on tobacco advertising at this website, see for example: “Al Jolson & Luckies, 1928-1940s” (Hollywood & cigarette advertising); “Babe Ruth & Tobacco, 1920s-1940s;” “Wayne For Camels,1950s” (actor John Wayne cigarette ads); “Gifford For Luckies, 1961-1962” (Frank Gifford, football star, in cigarette ad); and, “21 of 23 Giants…Smoke Camels” (promotional ad using 1933 World Series champs).  See also the “Madison Avenue” category page for other ad stories.

Thanks for visiting — and if you like what you find here, please make a donation to help support the research and writing at this website. Thank you.  — Jack Doyle

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Donate Now

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Date Posted: 19 July 2010
Last Update: 12 May 2018
Comments to:  jdoyle@pophistorydig.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PopHistoryDig

Article Citation:
Jack Doyle, “Vines for Camels, 1934-1935,”
PopHistoryDig.com, July 18, 2010.

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Sources, Links & Additional Information

Ellsworth Vines depicted on a 1933 “Sport Kings” trading card from Goudey Gum Co.
Ellsworth Vines depicted on a 1933 “Sport Kings” trading card from Goudey Gum Co.
Ad: “Get a Lift With a Camel!,” Popular Science, October 1934, from, ModernMechanix.com, August 6, 2007.

“Ellsworth Vines,” Wikipedia.org.

“Sport: Davis Cup,” Time, Monday, August 1, 1932.

Henry R. Ilsley, “Vines Tops Allison in Three-Set Final; Wins in Newport Singles for Second Year in Row…,”New York Times, Sunday, August 21, 1932, p. S-1.

Allison Danzig, “12,000 See Vines Vanquish Cochet; French Ace Defeated, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, in His First U.S. Appearance As a Pro,” New York Times, Tuesday, February 20, 1934, Sports, p. 27.

Allison Danzig, “Twenty Service’ Aces Are Scored by Vines in Routing Perry on Garden Court; Vines Wins Match in Straight Sets,” New York Times, Tuesday, May 4, 1937, p. 33.

Jack Kramer with Frank Deford, The Game, My 40 Years in Tennis, 1979.

Scott Olstad, “A Brief History Of Cigarette Advertising,” Time, Monday, June 15, 2009.

“Ellsworth Vines,” French website.

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