Should a gentleman offer a Tiparillo to a marine Biologist? You're suba-ing along, admiring a purple parrot fish and a red coral reef when you spot something truly breathtaking. A pink leg. A marine biologist. Discovering new things under the water. Maybe, you muse, she'd like to discover a Tiparillo... She could classify them as the slim, elegant cigar with the neat tip. Mild taste? Well she'd have to try one, wouldn't she? But should you offer her one? Or shouldn't you? Think fast, mate. Your face mask is steaming up.
Tiparillo ran this campaign – “Should a gentleman offer…” from 1967 to 1969. The ads in the campaign all portrayed an intelligent female with a budding career, and then they turned her into a sex object. These ads refused to give credit to women for their hard-earned careers. Instead, the ads portrayed these women, who would normally be seen as independent, as loose women who would be easily swayed by the offer of a Tiparillo. This ad features a topless marine biologist relaxing on the water’s surface while wearing scuba gear. Her breasts are partially exposed and placed strategically next to the boxes of Tiparillos, providing the viewer with a subliminal association between female nudity and the cigarette brand. The man holding the Tiparillos is submerged under water, and therefore the only part of him that she sees is his choice in cigarette, and the expression the ad has given her is one of intrigue and desire.
Female, Male, man, marine biologist, scientist, scuba diving, sex appeal, Teen, woman, young adult
