Collection: Nobel

This theme features ads for Nobel cigarettes, first introduced in Spain and the Canary Islands in February and March of 1981, respectively. As is the case with the majority of products on the market, brands of cigarettes were named in order to send particular messages to consumers. The brand name “Kool,” for example, not only reminds consumers of the throat-cooling sensation of menthols, but it also speaks to the word’s meaning in slang; to be “cool” is to be hip and trendy. The choice of certain brand names also extends to tobacco companies’ efforts to ease the concerns of worried smokers. Indeed, when the tobacco companies could no longer rely on explicit health claims in their advertisements due to FTC regulation, they developed countless methods to subliminally convey the same message, including brand name.

The brand name “Nobel” conjures up two associations which position the brand as offering a seemingly less harmful cigarette. First, “Nobel” is similar to the word “noble” (also “noble” in Spanish), indicating that the brand is trustworthy and has the consumer’s best interests in mind. Second, the brand shares the name of Alfred Bernhard Nobel, a scientist and inventor after whom the Nobel Prize was named. This association ties the brand both to Nobel’s own reputation of scientific advancement and, further, to the Nobel Prize’s prestige.

Nobel has traditionally performed well in its markets as a low-nicotine cigarette, but has switched manufacturers numerous times. Nobel was originally a Spanish domestic brand produced by Tabacalera, SA, the Spanish tobacco monopoly, with the technical assistance of Philip Morris. In 1999, Tabacalera, SA, merged with France’s tobacco monopoly, SEITA, to form Atladis, which acquired Nobel. Then, in 2008, Imperial Tobacco acquired Atadis and now has control over Nobel cigarettes.