Click for larger imageVintage Ad of the Day - What a Gift!

Back in 1950, there was no greater gift for the men in your life than a carton of cigarettes or a bottle of booze.  Ads like this one were so common throughout magazines such as Life, Look, The Saturday Evening Post, and so on.  And it sure helped that, in this one, you had all the crooners pitching a specially wrapped carton with Bing Crosby as "Poppa Santa Claus".  How much more festive could you get? 

If you're about my age (early 40's), you probably remember someone in your household opening up cartons of cigarettes as gifts on Christmas morning.  I know I do.  We even have home movies of such gift-giving traditions, with us kids hollering, "Hold it up for the camera, Dad!"

Say what you want about the product, but tobacco advertising through the years has given us some of the most memorable images, and, in the so-called "golden age" of Hollywood, nearly every major celebrity advertised for tobacco.  Tobacco advertising has always been my personal favorite to study.  Interestingly enough, in this day and age, major cigarette manufacturers are discontinuing magazine and newspaper advertising, so these ads are truly representative of an era gone by.  It's almost a shame about that, seeing as how tobacco is still a legal product, but let's not have that discussion here.

Funny how it's still acceptable to give a bottle of booze for a holiday gift in 2007, yet I doubt too many people are giving cartons of cigarettes.  And I also chuckle when I see alcohol advertising, particularly on television, that always ends with their corporate social responsibility statement, "Please enjoy (insert brand here) responsibly", while they show rivers of liquor or beer flowing. 

Please, enjoy today's Vintage Ad responsibly.  And stay away from anyone calling themselves "Poppa Santa Claus", because he may be hazardous to your health.