For four of its legendary six seasons, "I Love Lucy" was the most-watched show on American television. The real-life husband–and-wife combination of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz was a sitcom match made in heaven from jump, and the series continues to air in (what remains of) syndication to this day.
It didn't take long for "I Love Lucy" to find a massive, devoted audience, but the interracial pairing of the very Caucasian Ball with the Cuban-born Arnaz turned off most potential advertisers. The CBS show desperately needed a major sponsor, so when the tobacco giant Philip Morris stepped up, they gladly took the corporation's money. In fact, they were so grateful for the support, that the stars personally, and eagerly, plugged the company's cigarettes in extended commercials before and during each episode.
These ads didn't stick with the show when it moved to syndication (televised cigarette ads were banned...
It didn't take long for "I Love Lucy" to find a massive, devoted audience, but the interracial pairing of the very Caucasian Ball with the Cuban-born Arnaz turned off most potential advertisers. The CBS show desperately needed a major sponsor, so when the tobacco giant Philip Morris stepped up, they gladly took the corporation's money. In fact, they were so grateful for the support, that the stars personally, and eagerly, plugged the company's cigarettes in extended commercials before and during each episode.
These ads didn't stick with the show when it moved to syndication (televised cigarette ads were banned...
- 9/3/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
As Last Week Tonight host John Oliver notes early in his incredible, 20-minute examination of the global battle being fought over tobacco advertising, the smoking rate in the United States has dropped from 43 percent in 1965 to 18 percent today thanks to strict laws outlawing cigarette ads. With America largely kicking its smoking habit, the tobacco industry has been forced to make up the revenues abroad, leading to court battles in countries like Australia, Uruguay and Togo, one of the 10 poorest nations in the world.
Oliver's takedown also focuses on the extreme...
Oliver's takedown also focuses on the extreme...
- 2/16/2015
- Rollingstone.com
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