Rough Rider Cigarettes
Date
Format
- Packaging 353
A 1950 cigarette packaging by “Malayan Tobacco Company (1956-1976), now known as British American Tobacco.”
The “Rough Riders” are featured on the packaging to invoke a feeling of masculinity, ruggedness, and independence as if they are riding freely in the American West. The packaging design shows the influence America has around the world. American events even end up designed on cigarette packaging to make people want to buy a product.
Background on the “Rough Riders:”
“The 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry, known as the “Rough Riders,” recruited by Theodore Roosevelt and largely composed of cowboys, miners, law-enforcement officials, and college athletes, achieved worldwide acclaim following America’s invasion of Cuba. The unit participated in the Battle of Santiago, during which it charged across a valley to assist in the seizure of San Juan Ridge (the highest point of which is San Juan Hill). The imagery of the Rough Riders was used extensively during Roosevelt’s subsequent vice-presidential and presidential campaigns.”
Source: Malaysia Design Archive
