My mom had a friend who worked for Camel Cigarettes and he gave her all the Camel Bucks stuff he got for free from his job. We still have the beach towels, lighters in the shape of cigarette packs, and the Joe Camel head coffee cups. As a little kid I never thought Joe Camel was part of a cigarette brand, I always thought it was some adult cartoon I wasn’t allowed to watch and my mom got to collect the merchandise like I collected Barney and Barbie merch. Never realized until I was a teenager that Joe Camel was created by a cigarette brand…I was one oblivious kid.
My uncle worked for R.J. Reynolds around this time so he offloaded a bunch of that same merch to us. I even wore one of the camel shirts my mom got as a pj shirt as a kid. I never did pick up smoking but as a kid I always thought the art was cool.
@@moriartea897 me too! I wish I still had the shirts! I remember them and I really want one now lol My mom smoked, but she hated camels, she just like all the cool stuff her friend was gonna throw away (he also worked at a Pepsi factory at one time but he never got anything cool except beer cozies). I never thought about smoking or thought it was cool because a funny looking camel smoked, I really found it interesting and cool, like you said, like it was some sort of artwork, but more so as an adult cartoon because I never saw it on Nick or Disney or Cartoon Network. Just one day I saw a documentary about cigarettes and alcoholism and they mentioned how they tried to entice children with “cute cartoons” like Joe Camel or handsome models in commercials and ads in stores to become their new customers, and I was like, “WTF CAMEL CIGARETTES CREATED JOE CAMEL??!!” Again, oblivious kid. Now I’m almost 30 (3 more weeks 🫤) and drinking and smoking do not appeal to me, plus cigarettes are expensive, not gonna pay nearly $10 ruining my lungs and smelling like an ashtray every week.
@@DoctaDoon very obvlious kid, my POS father is an addict, alcoholic, and loves to throw himself a pity party, and my mom is kinda mean but will give you the shirt off her back, and has been smoking since she was 13 (she’s 54 now). So maybe one good parent. But thank you for thinking so 😙
I was 10 in 1987 and I used to love seeing "Joe Camel" ads in my magazines. I never once thought I was being targeted which I guess was the whole point.
@@WhuDhat Joe Camel wasn't in Boys Life, MAD or Tiger Beat, typically aimed at 10 year olds, however he's probably referring to the family's magazines when he says "my" magazines. Joe Camel was everywhere. Newsweek, Time, Popular Mechanics,... etc.
I used to cut the Joe Camel ads out of magazines (Sports Illustrated primarily) and pin them on the wall of my bedroom when I was 12 or 13. I did the same with those Absolut Vodka ads. There were other ads too (non-dangerous stuff like Nike). They were aspirationally cool for me at the time. Of course, I couldn't actually get Camels where I lived (Canada), so that's not what I smoked when I started smoking around the same time.
I think that was my first exposure to Joe Camel, later I saw him in magazines that were aimed at kids and even as a kid i thought it was kind of weird they were making ciggerate ads aimed at kids since we couldnt buy them.
I recently learned his name has always been “CapNCrunch” not “Captain Crunch”. Can’t even find an old picture with the cereal box with the latter name. Weird
My dad used to collect Camel bucks. At one point he had a freezer bag stuffed completely full with probably 2,000 bucks in it. Happy to say he finally quit smoking a few years back.
My dad smoked Camel non filtered his whole life. He smoked his last cigerette waiting on the ambulance. When the ambulance showed up, put out this cigerette, got one gurney, said bye and died. He was 59. Ironically, cigerette didn't directly kill him, my mom was an invalid, he just have up and died of a broken heart. He was buried with a pack of Camels and his Zippo lighter with all 7 kids names engraved on it.
I started smoking around 13. My group preferred Camels because they were considered cool. This was the early 90's. I quit smoking ages ago and still want a cigarette. The addiction never goes away.
I grew up with a mother who chain smoked around me. I took one puff when I was 13ish, that's all. I STILL crave cigarettes when I'm stressed. I don't know if it's from the second hand smoke or from "learning" from my mom who smoked.
I absolutely remember Joe Camel from his entirety. Several friends of mine had gathered enough Camel Cash to get Jackets, backpacks and Zippo lighters. I happen to have a Camel backpack handed down to me from a friend. It was ridiculous how many Camel Cash you needed to get one of these items.
Yeah, I still got the engraved Zippo lighter from them. For a while they gave away t-shirts if you called a toll free number. We hit up everyone we knew , smoker or not, called in and a had a ton of those (one per household). Every now and then one of those Camel cash will show up in a drawer. Quit smoking years ago.
As a kid born in the early 80s, I can attest to seeing this guy advertised everywhere. Also, I did find his look appealing lol. Luckily I never started smoking
I can confirm. Billboards and in magazine ads in the waiting room at the doctor's office. Joe Camel was everywhere except on TV, which was the domain of Bud Light's Spuds MacKenzie.
I happen to have two copies hardback the complete history of Joe camel has every piece of advertisement ever made of Joe camel and his four friends, Floyd-Bustah Max and Eddie still in the boxes, never been opened, make me an offer I will only sell one and I also happen to have one of the largest Joe collection camels in the nation. Quite probably the largest, I kid you not .If you ever want to be amazed and asked me to post some of my photos, all my pieces are mint! not a finger print on a single piece everything still in their original boxes over 2000 pieces starting off with about 300 lighters, mostly zippo’s never been opened never been touched
I remember saving the bucks from the packs and showed my dad how rich I was. He never saw them added up like that. The look on his face is in my mind now. Just realizing all that could have been REAL money if he didn't smoke..
I’ve never thought of Joe Camel to appeal to children. When I was a kid, his ads didn’t make sense to me. Why would beautiful women be attracted to a camel smoking a cigarette? I thought it was weird. Definitely didn’t make me want to smoke.
Right!? It truly never even caught my eye, let alone make me want to take up smoking. My own stupid curiosity because a friend was smoking caused me to pick up the habit.
This narrator is great. Delivery, humor & tone are great. Reminds me of the actor, Marc Evan Jackson. PS... today is my 1 year anniversary of being smoke free
I grew up with this mascot and never wanted to smoke because of it. It was an attempt to make my ex wife leave that hooked me. Said she would leave if I smoked but it was another of her lies.
Furthermore, being a smoker does not make one more popular or hip. Quite the reverse, in fact. I know I've been a smoker since 1989. And I didn't start because of a Camel cartoon. When I saw my father smoking, I wanted to emulate him.
@@cleverusername9369 she wouldn't leave and kept spreading rumors that I was abusive. I was 18 she was 30. And actually I was puny back then. She was able to rip me to the floor by grabbing my hair. That was her main thing. She did way more
When I was little, like kindergarten age, Joe Camel was my "imaginary friend" Told a friend about it in high school, and that's when she realized, how impactfull that campaign was on children.
I remember in high school people talking about how the cigarette company had hidden visuals in the original camel on the pack and that they got in trouble for making Joe’s face look like a man’s genitals. Yeah I never smoked in my life and that cartoon only made me not want to even more.
Coors did something similar in the '90s. They had a mascot called the beerwolf; basically a cool werewolf that drank Coors. He became popular among teens. Lots of kids at my school (including myself) had beerwolf t-shirts.
In fifth grade we would constantly talk about the Budweiser frogs and chameleons. I was a huge fan of reptiles and critters, so naturally I was drawn towards these ads. Interestingly enough, I now own a panther chameleon probably due to those commercials. Long story short, never hire a ferret to do a weasels job.
I was already a smoker in my early 20s, and these campaigns did convince me to switch to Camel Lights and they were actually good cigs. It appears to have been an incredibly successful ad campaign in retrospect. But for me, it was just the ads and Camel Bucks. One thing that was left out of this post is there were experts also complaining that it was that they were selling underage sex because the character's depiction was very 'penis-like'. True. At the time, I found all the outcry silly. You can't force kids to smoke. Kids like I was, have always been drawn to that dangerous habit. Sure, during that time more were starting with Camels instead of Marlboro reds like I did in my teens, but that was just great marketing, plain and simple. Isn't that what America all about? (sarcasm) I haven't smoked actual cigs for 10 yrs thanks to something else people complain about. Vaping. If you don't know, you don't know, but I can say for a fact switching to vaping almost certainly saved my life. My morning ritual before then was to wake up sick and cough up God knows what into the sink before work where we would hotbox cigs in the most difficult of weather because workplace restrictions got tighter and tighter. I never want anyone to pick up this terrible habit and a bunch of ya'll might call me an idiot, weak, etc., etc. But was/is a different time, and knowing is half the battle! GI Joe!
Vaping saved my Dad's life. It irritated his throat. Told his doctor about it...doc ordered up a chest xray just as a precaution...eventually found out he had stage 4 lung cancer...couple years later and he is currently cancer free. Without vaping the smooth camels/reds would have tricked him into not knowing about his lung cancer.
Quit smoking eight years ago after twenty years thanks to vaping. I was a Camel Filter/ Marlboro Red guy who'd quit once for a year, but was hooked harder when I started smoking again after a breakup. May have vaped a year or two at most. Without that option, I'd likely never have quit. I'm certain vaping will have saved years of my life when all is said and done.
My buddies mom worked in a smoking bar and the patrons would leave her Marlboro miles as a tip, after 3 years they had the pool table and couch which were two of the top miles
This makes me want to revisit a film called "Thank You For Smoking". But in all honesty, as a non-smoker, for novelty purposes, I kinda dig the Joe Camel merch; I bet it'd be considered collector's items from a weirder non-existent era.
I remember my parents and a lot of people smoking growing up. It’s insane to think now all of my social circle at 30 do not smoke, yet younger people are huge fans of vapes. I feel grateful that maybe my decade just missed the nicotine rush (though it could just be my environment)
Idk about that. Im 34, and still smoke. Everyone I knew growing up smoked. Easily 95% of everyone I associated with smoked. Different areas of the country operate differently I'd imagine.
I too fall in between the smokers and vape crowd and I too find it odd that we got so lucky to not get hooked on cigarettes nor vapes. It really seems vapes have taken off where I live and I wonder what horror stories we'll hear as those kids start to get sick and pass away.
And in a few short years we would be hearing that vaping is even worse than smoking as all the evidence would be out. Then many shall quit vaping as they see all the suffering associated with it.
Nicotine is highly addictive, smoke or vape. I was born in 1960, when all adults smoked. My Mum started, in Med School, to fit in. My Dad eventually quit, but she was hooked, using nicotine gum until she died.
Being born in the 21st century I saw quite a few youths vaping growing up, but I think things are beginning to settle now. I know many who now smoke only weed and reject the poison of nicotine.
Born in 84, I’m a total Camel kid. Long car rides were rewarded with a sighting of Joe on a billboard along the way. Although I only dabbled is cigarettes, I smoked camels and years later I bought some fun merchandise off eBay. Those posters and cool! 😁✌️😮💨
In all seriousness, please proofread your postings ahead of time. Writing or typing the English language is really quite easy despite what non-English speaking ppl will tell you. Thanks! Have a great evening.
I remember my mom bringing me a bunch of Joe content home since she worked in a store that sold cigarettes and even getting things in the mail, but it didn't make me want to smoke.
Suggestion: Another cigarette ad campaign that targeted a specific demographic. The Virginia Slims "You've come a long way, baby!" ads that targeted female smokers. The gist of it was, part of being a liberated women included having the right to smoked without being judged, or restricted by a patriarchal society.
As much as one doesn’t want to admit having a cigarette allowed females an opportunity to have conversations and power in negotiations and conversations with male colleagues who normally would not want to speak with them otherwise.
I agree, there’s a really interesting history of tobacco companies piggybacking on feminist movements to try to get women to smoke. All the way back to the Torches of Freedom campaign in 1929
I recall seeing those ads as a cynical, cigarette-hating child, looking st my mom, and asking "come a long way? Where exactly are they insinuating that you started out, mom?"
Another weird ad campaign was when McDonald's tried to appeal more to young adults. There was one TV ad where Ronald McDonald is shown partying and dancing in a night club. Ronald was really getting his groove on. I guess he was tired of hanging out with crazy cartoony puppet characters and talking puppet menu items.
Ciharette companies new ad campaigns: Reverse psychology, and making non-smokers look cringey as fuck. Look up any of the "truth campaign" ads of the last 15-almost 20 years, specifically the ones that try to tap into "MeMe CuLtUrE!!!! ErRrR MaH GoD ReMeMbEr CaTs GuYs?!?!?" Type humor. Cigarette companies are required by law to invest %XX of their profits into anti-smoking campaigns. So this is what they do. They make the commercials so loud, obnoxious and unfunny, the only reaction you can possibly have to ask yourself "how can I set myself apart from the assholes depicted here?" And the easiest answer to that is..... SMOKE A CIGARETTE! Fucking genius if you ask me. Hell, I got in trouble in middle school for commenting on how stupid the ads were, and how condescending it felt that it was supposedly done with my demographic in mind. I wasn't trying to defend smoking AT ALL, just comment on the terrible execution being done, and here the teachers were practically telling me I had it all wrong, while simultaneously telling us "smoking is so bad the companies have to campaign against themselves, also those campaigns aren't bad at all and totally true" and didn't see the stupidity in their thought process.
I used to smoke camel Turkish gold cigarettes and one time in college I was standing outside the lecture hall smoking a camel and my English professor came by and saw what I was smoking and said "Camels? Great! My father thanks you!" I was taken aback by his unusual enthusiasm and asked "why would he thank me?" He laughed and said "Oh, because he's an attorney for R.J. Reynolds!" Definitely made me think a bit about what I was doing... I didn't quit then but did a few years later cold turkey.
Amazing to think how little that Family Guy episode was exaggerating. "The last thing we want is for children to start smoking." "Well, what about that graph that says 'The first thing we want is for kids to start smoking'?" "Oh, that's just something my son made in art class." "Oh. W-well, what about that sign that says 'The graph wasn't made in art class. We really want kids to start smoking'?"
I had just about everything I could get my hands on in the Camel cash book that was released at one time. Of course I couldn’t get the outdoor ultimate patio set with hot tub and grill for 200,000 camel cash but all of the lighters, jackets, shirts, ash trays etc. I had just about every person I knew that smoked giving me their camel cash. I was only 13 at the time and it was easy to just lie about your age on the mail in ordering form. At one time you could even order cigs by mail. But the whole point is, yes kids were driven and enticed by cig companies to smoke and be rewarded for doing so. Remember Marlboro miles? Those were a big hit as well!
As a kid I always wondered why so many of those programs where you have to buy or sell a product to earn points you redeem for prizes always had that 1 prize no sane person could ever get. When i was a kid our school had us all selling magazine subscriptions and the top prizes were so insanely expensive the top seller of our school of 700+ kids couldnt even afford it. I remember seeing rewards programs for things like Camel Cash that would have things like cars that you'd need to spend like $500k to be able to win it. I'm surprised my dad never got into Marlboro Miles, he used to smoke 4-6 packs of those a day. We could have gone to Hawaii once a year!
I remember as a kid we would go on walks with my dad to find Marlboro packs to get the points off of them. It was a lot of fun and we got some cool stuff for it. My dad is not a smoker, nor is my sister or I. In fact, I never even tried. Either my dad was really good at telling us how bad it is or their promotional tactic did not work on us.
Joe Camel was a few years gone by the time I was born, but there was still quite a lot of him around in my early childhood in the form of merch. The t-shirts are the main thing I remember. Even though my dad didn't smoke camels, I think he had at least one shirt. It's still hard for me to believe that even after all that evidence emerged on how the ads were attracting children, some governing body didn't step in and pull the ads.
Yes! You're right. I remember seeing Joe Camel in early 2000s on magazines since smoking ads were relevant in Greece even in 2018. Yeah full smoking ads in billboards and everything baby!
As an ex smoker, who has never even heard of the camel cartoon until this video, I can hand on heart say, when I was abroad on holiday or wanted to treat myself to a good packet, I'd smoke camel, in my 30s now and smoke free for 2 years but god not a day goes by 😂🐫
Every time I see camel cigarettes I think of being shown the ‘naked man’ on the camel’s shoulder/leg by a middle school classmate. Now I can’t unsee it 😂😂😂
Ahhh the 80s! A time when Joe Camel and Spuds MacKenzie could run wild with their coolness. They both debuted in the US at about the same time funny enough.
My friend wore a Winston backpack to school in 4th grade in the 90s. No one cared or never questioned why such a thing existed, I guess for all the adults who wear cheap backpacks.
I remember going to Disney with the entire family wearing Joe Camel T shirts except for my brother was only two. Apparently they didn't make them small enough. And the yellow rain jacket was like wearing a sweat suit made out of a plastic bag.
I grew up in this era. 90% of six year olds absolutely did NOT have a clue who joe camel was OR what a frickin cigarette was, let alone link the two together. If these advocation groups werent always as shady as the companies they go against maybe I could get behind them, but it's always exaggerated bullcrap from both sides.... which makes me just not care about the issue at all.
I had a friend in high school whose dad worked at RJ Reynolds. I lived in Pinnacle, NC which was 20 min from Winston Salem where the RJ headquarters was. He brought us a huge box of Camel cash he "took" from the factory. We got so much camel merchandise with those! I was 16.
I was an adult when Joe Camel appeared, because I was an adult non smoker, who had just watched my mother endure the process of quitting I wasn’t about to start. I’m glad I didn’t, as I have ADHD and it would have been hell to quit. My mom later said that she felt guilty for smoking as long as she did, because it hurt me, told her that she shouldn’t, because she presented a VERY powerful anti smoking model.
“The advertising strategy shift examined that musty old logo and boldly asked: what if the camel was vaguely sexy?” And thus a cigarette company would go forth to litter the world with copious amounts of softcore furry camel art for confused teens everywhere.
...cool. I never got the whole "it looks like a man's genitals" controversy. Joe's nose looks more like a giant cuttlefish. No one has ever compared those to a man's junk.
Camels used to be my brand, but they reformulated the cigarette and added a thick paper liner to their cigarettes that completely changed the flavor and sensation of the smoke. I switched back to Marlboro after a 5 year hiatus from smoking.
And their next genius move was to make the whole thing so controversial that we'd be talking about it for years to come. No such thing as Bad Publicity.
talking about it for years to come means nothing to the company if it doesn't translate to sales. Cig sales been down for 20 years and just went up last year bc of the panini press...
This was all done so they can play the fucking master settlement game, states get tons of money every year now for smokers, that's why states started banning flavored vape juice, it was causing adults to quit smoking. States took loans out against this money and now they get less when vaping helps people quit, the state will most certainly want a cigarette in the mouth of citizens if it means they still get that money flowing in.
I was a teen in the 1970s and looked at quite a few Playboys, Penthouses, and Hustler magazines. I saw a LOT of liquor and cigarette ads. None encouraged me to start smoking or drinking.
Sure do remember Joe Camel, I was a teenager during the 90s. I had several items bought with Camel cash. My favorite item is a pool cue that I still have to this day. Never smoked a Camel cigarette in my entire life. All of the Camel cash I saved was through friends and family or found on discarded cigarette packs.
As a High school smoker hanging out on the school field in the 80s, whenever a kid pulled out a packet of Camels, we all took a look at it's cool package. Strong but harsh and no filter 20s.
Looking back, I smoked as a teen and was angry that anyone would want to take my right to smoke away. Now that I'm an adult, I can see that cigarette companies were downright predatory and downright evil. I still remember stealing a Virginia Slim from my mother around four years old and trying it behind our shed. I immediately coughed and my mom caught me, she was absolutely horrified.
Hopefully society feels this way about the junkfood industry in a few years. America's the fattest nation on Earth & obesity is the #1 preventable cause of illness & death now that tobacco use is down. I'm all for personal freedom (I'm pro-legalization of all drugs) but corporations shouldn't have the right to peddle poison without any oversight whatsoever. No lying or unethical practices. My mom smoked 3 packs a day while I was in the womb which I'm pretty sure set me up for ADHD & a tendency to substance abuse that my siblings don't have (she quit before having them).
The company also strategically placed large Joe Camel ads in convenience stores across the front counter where the candy was usually kept. This way the kids would be sure to see him and be conditioned to associate the brand with buying candy as they grew up. That's comic-book supervillain-level of an evil plan right there!
I moved to the US from Mexico in 2004 and they still had the adds in magazines and the cash points. If I ever smoke again, I'll smoke camels for the nostalgia... thanks for making this video, now I want to smoke cigarettes.
I started smoking camels in the late 80's, I stopped in 2021... they're not kidding about brand loyalty... and had so much Joe Camel swag! Most of my high school pictures has me wearing a Joe Camel hat (Camel Bucks)... graduated in '93...
I'm late to the party. But don't forget about candy cigarettes. These weren't made by the tobacco companies. I remember fondly acting like I was smoking with friends when we got these around Halloween. They did taste like chalk and sugar.
I remember Joe Camel 🐫from the late 80s. Sadly all of us kids that were born in the late 70s to early 80s though he was cool. I saw commercials, billboards, and advertising in magazines. As an adult I know now it wasn’t cool. All that definitely helped me inevitably become a smoker. I’m glad I’ve been off cigarettes since 2015.
I remember being a high school senior and drew Joe Camel in art class. I didn’t smoke, and come from an LDS family. My mom was a bit worried, but when she showed it to one of our high priests, he said it was a good drawing. 😄
I had to read this comment 3 times, trying to figure out what an LSD family would look like: Dad's in the den rolling a doobie and listening to Jefferson Airplane on the 8-track, Mom's baked and baking cookies in the psychedelic kitchen, and the kids are encouraged to paint on the floors and certain walls of the house to enhance their creative sides.
I chose my first brand of smokes based on the the display and seeing the colourful boxes. But here in Canada it became illegal to show off the smokes and finally made it so the companies had to use a plain brown box regardless of brand.
I think the study involving 3 and 6 year old's was heavily biased against the cigarette makers. They probably just saw the cigarette and knew what it was because a family member of theirs smoked.
I met someone like that, they died eventually but they started smoking in grade school all the way into their 70s. My uncle started smoking regularly when he was around 8 or 10 and by high school he was smoking a pack a day and after he turned 18 it turned into a 4+ pack a day habit. Once he turned 60 he "cut back" to 1-2 packs a day and somehow he avoided cancer until 65 but even that didnt get him to quit. He's in remission now but still smoking. I was lucky enough to get cancer at 15 and I'll tell you what: there's few things as surreal as seeing someone in their 70s or 80s needing the nurse to wheel them and their IV machine outside so they can smoke while they're getting chemo pumped into their veins. I saw a woman who looked older than my grandma (like mid 80s but cancer/chemo ages you) and she was sitting in a wheelchair when it was cold and raining, sitting under the awning smoking a cigarette with multiple bags of chemo going into her.
Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny and the myriad of other cartoon characters were not created expressively for children, they were created for adults in movie theaters, to entertain the kid in everybody. Over the years, cartoons became associated with children. The original Flintstones smoked Winstons and were not accused of targeting children
This video gave me flashbacks to when I was in my middle school health class, where there was a PLETHORA of both vintage smoking and anti-smoking posters and the Joe Camel poster was one of the biggest one. And that same teacher also smoked Camel. Coincidence? I think not! 😬🤦🏻♀️
Literally watched an old man with a prosthetic arm with that metal hook for a hand open a fresh pack of filterless camels, pull one out and bend it to a circle. It never even ripped the paper.
I remember being in the 5th grade and they held a field trip/outing to a highschool 🏟️ stadium for what they called a "DRUG-FREE JAMBOREE!" THEY CARRIED AROUND A LIFE-SIZE JOE CAMEL IN A COFFIN AND CALLED THE SKIT "THE DEATH OF JOE CAMEL🐪!"😂😂😂
I smoked Winston's in grade school as a kid because of the old cartoon ad of the Flintstones from the 1960s plus started drinking beer because the Flintstones did it first Plus bought a rocket powered pair of roller skates and 50 miles of train tracks because of Wile E Coyote
I remember the magazine ads. But, the convenience store I work at is so old that they still have a bunch of hand baskets in the back that have Joe Camel on them.
Despite the negative effects on the children, one does have to admit the ad campaign was successful. There are most definitely pros and cons of Joe Camel.
I remember the ice cream trucks in the 90's Sold candy cigarettes ... Yaaaa for real . The tip I believe had even a hint of red like it being lit. It sort of had a chalk taste or like the stick to the " stick N Dip " candy. .....had myself a two pack a day habit. Till my mom found out her change jar was getting pretty light. Nevertheless, don't smoke kids
I remember old Joe from the early 90s in those classic cigarette dispensers/vending machines. But it never encouraged me to smoked, even though my grandfather smoked camel studs.
I remember him, my grandpa smoked camels, never inspired me to smoke though. I actually paid attention in health and that was enough for me not to smoke.
I remember Joe Camel. He wasn’t shut down until 1996. In fact, The William Jefferson Blythe Administration held RJ Reynolds accountable for their Illegal subliminal campaign.
I am glad you didn’t smoke. I didn’t realize how bad the nicotine gets on household items, the walls, and even your ice maker. And for that, I refuse to eat from my cousin’s house. It’s so bad she has an ash tray where she cooks and does laundry
@@jgallardo7344 : when I worked as a hospital maternity nurse, a grateful family member brought in a big potion of Rice Krispie treats - as a thank-you. Not long after she brought them, we all grabbed one (hadn’t eaten that day)....... but...... they were so very disgusting because they tasted like a full ashtray smells‼️😱🥴🤢 We all spit out the portion we had stared to eat and threw the rest in the dirty utility trash can. The person was pleased to see that they were all gone and offered to make us more‼️ We assured this person that we just didn’t need anymore treats.
@@slcRN1971 🤮🤮🤮 that is so disgusting. To think of all the nicotine that collected on the mixing bowls and baking pans. Thank God, you all threw that in the trash. I learned the hard way about nicotine when my cousin was trying to be a nice soul. She gave us a bag of ice from her ice maker to help us thaw a turkey. My roommate was weary about using it knowing my cousin’s house is a smoker’s house. I thought she was crazy making me smell the ice, but i smelled it - it reeked of nicotine. To think of all the nicotine that was in food at grocery stores and restaurants when it was legal to smoke indoors. As my cousin is downsizing and trying to sell her house, she’s learning the hard way, that more people don’t smoke and it’s greatly condemned. People don’t want items like clothes and furniture from a smoker’s house as it’s damaged from nicotine and ash. She’s also going to have trouble selling her house
I’m glad you mentioned former congressman Henry Waxman. His legislation to ban all cigarette advertising was among the multitude of Consumer related legislation he sponsored. Maybe he’s not a national name, but well known to those of us in Southern California. He has a great replacement in Congress (Ted Lieu) but mr. Waxman’s impact will long be remembered.
In 1995 me and and one of my college friends saved enough Camel Bucks to get a Camel kayak... which never touched the water. As of 2022 it's still hanging in my parents garage.
I remember growing up in the peak Joe Camel era. I thought he looked so cool in those magazine advertisements. I never smoked myself so the campaign didn't work on me. I just thought Joe was doing all the cool stuff that I would get to do when I was an adult.
@@raggedymanxl5166 I’m from the US but saw it on a trip abroad wish I could remember where you know instead of a camel cartoon with tar lung but hey lol
@@raggedymanxl5166 Cigarette ads were banned from US Television in January 1972. Japan in August 1979 and in the UK in February 1985. Which means in the UK, Cigarette ads were STILL on TV as late as ‘84.
This calls for a video about Edward Bernays who got women to start smoking for the first time in history. Millions of women have died of lung cancer as a result of his skillful propaganda.
And 25 years later I still stash my weed in my Smoking Joe racing tin,quit smoking cigarettes 4 years ago but get my memories everytime I crack open my stash...thanks for the memories Joe
Indeed the ad campaign was intended for as young a target market as possible. It was the early 90s and unfortunately for 6 years prior I had been a smoker. The most popular brand among my peer group was Marlboro. Light cigarettes targeted us like deer in the headlamps. By 91 I had switched to Camel Wides which were the Joe Camel cigarettes. I was definitely going to smoke Wides from then on...
my dad started smoking Marlboros when he was around 12, partially because of the Marlboro Man ads making it seem like the Manly Man cigarette and since all boys at the time idolized westerns and the ads had a strong cowboy vibe.
Joe Camel wasn't targeted towards kids back then any more than Bud light's Spuds Mackenzie was. Animal and cartoon figures for smoking back then were targeted by advocacy groups, but not ones for alcohol, because smoking restriction laws were becoming common then. Now, it has become "common knowledge" that these were targeted towards kids, when that fact had been nothing more than an accusation back then by these groups.
Being 41 years old I remember all the cigarette campaigns the Marlboro man Joe Camel and the Newport aids were everyone was hanging out on a beach etc etc I don't remember them making me think oh smoking is cool cause a camel is lighting up or some younger people hanging and smoking on a beach my own family was more of the negative impact then commercial tactics... Great upload
I remember Joe from when I was a fairly young kid. Idk if it was due to age, or due to my abusive father being a chain smoker (or the specific Joe Camel ad the local convenience store had), but I always found him super creepy.
My preferred cigarrettes were Camel Lights before I quit (though my next favorites were Camel Special Lights then Camel Turkish gold). It was so difficult to quit, they engineer them to be so addictive.
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
My mom had a friend who worked for Camel Cigarettes and he gave her all the Camel Bucks stuff he got for free from his job. We still have the beach towels, lighters in the shape of cigarette packs, and the Joe Camel head coffee cups. As a little kid I never thought Joe Camel was part of a cigarette brand, I always thought it was some adult cartoon I wasn’t allowed to watch and my mom got to collect the merchandise like I collected Barney and Barbie merch. Never realized until I was a teenager that Joe Camel was created by a cigarette brand…I was one oblivious kid.
My uncle worked for R.J. Reynolds around this time so he offloaded a bunch of that same merch to us. I even wore one of the camel shirts my mom got as a pj shirt as a kid. I never did pick up smoking but as a kid I always thought the art was cool.
@@moriartea897 me too! I wish I still had the shirts! I remember them and I really want one now lol
My mom smoked, but she hated camels, she just like all the cool stuff her friend was gonna throw away (he also worked at a Pepsi factory at one time but he never got anything cool except beer cozies). I never thought about smoking or thought it was cool because a funny looking camel smoked, I really found it interesting and cool, like you said, like it was some sort of artwork, but more so as an adult cartoon because I never saw it on Nick or Disney or Cartoon Network. Just one day I saw a documentary about cigarettes and alcoholism and they mentioned how they tried to entice children with “cute cartoons” like Joe Camel or handsome models in commercials and ads in stores to become their new customers, and I was like, “WTF CAMEL CIGARETTES CREATED JOE CAMEL??!!” Again, oblivious kid. Now I’m almost 30 (3 more weeks 🫤) and drinking and smoking do not appeal to me, plus cigarettes are expensive, not gonna pay nearly $10 ruining my lungs and smelling like an ashtray every week.
Anything for sale?? So cool!
Oblivious kid, or a kid raised right with good parents
@@DoctaDoon very obvlious kid, my POS father is an addict, alcoholic, and loves to throw himself a pity party, and my mom is kinda mean but will give you the shirt off her back, and has been smoking since she was 13 (she’s 54 now). So maybe one good parent. But thank you for thinking so 😙
I was 10 in 1987 and I used to love seeing "Joe Camel" ads in my magazines. I never once thought I was being targeted which I guess was the whole point.
Kids with down syndrome were especially susceptible.
what magazines were you getting?
@@WhuDhat what else female underware mags you get for free in the mail.
@@WhuDhat Joe Camel wasn't in Boys Life, MAD or Tiger Beat, typically aimed at 10 year olds, however he's probably referring to the family's magazines when he says "my" magazines. Joe Camel was everywhere. Newsweek, Time, Popular Mechanics,... etc.
I used to cut the Joe Camel ads out of magazines (Sports Illustrated primarily) and pin them on the wall of my bedroom when I was 12 or 13. I did the same with those Absolut Vodka ads. There were other ads too (non-dangerous stuff like Nike). They were aspirationally cool for me at the time. Of course, I couldn't actually get Camels where I lived (Canada), so that's not what I smoked when I started smoking around the same time.
I remember Joe being on the conveyor belt separators at the grocery store when I was a kid…. Ah the 90’s
I think that was my first exposure to Joe Camel, later I saw him in magazines that were aimed at kids and even as a kid i thought it was kind of weird they were making ciggerate ads aimed at kids since we couldnt buy them.
Holy shit this unlocked some old memory in me
I knew he was a cigarette brand and thought smoking was gross (still do) but he was slick as fuck
@@whome9470 He was a smooth character
I can’t find this on the internet! I’m a collector and need at least an image of this
Would love to know the history of cereal box mascots, like Captain Crunch
I'd like one on Buzz from Honey Nut Cheerios & Lucky The Leprechaun
Choco pops Please. 😌
and Count Chocula, Frankenberry, the Lucky Charms Leprechaun, etc.
Cereals were considered poop people food and were boring. The mascots were just a way to market it to kids and make it the staple breakfast food
I recently learned his name has always been “CapNCrunch” not “Captain Crunch”. Can’t even find an old picture with the cereal box with the latter name. Weird
My dad used to collect Camel bucks. At one point he had a freezer bag stuffed completely full with probably 2,000 bucks in it. Happy to say he finally quit smoking a few years back.
But what did he buy with those bucks
My dad smoked Camel non filtered his whole life. He smoked his last cigerette waiting on the ambulance. When the ambulance showed up, put out this cigerette, got one gurney, said bye and died. He was 59. Ironically, cigerette didn't directly kill him, my mom was an invalid, he just have up and died of a broken heart. He was buried with a pack of Camels and his Zippo lighter with all 7 kids names engraved on it.
@@michaelconran5252 man that is a shame. I hope you are doing well.
We did the marlboro points thing. I got a blow up canoe, tent, sleeping bags and other camping stuff. I preferred that stuff to the camel stuff.
@@noxscotchxtape probably could get a book of matches or a ballpoint pen with 2000 😆 I remember the prizes for those things being ridiculously high
I started smoking around 13. My group preferred Camels because they were considered cool. This was the early 90's. I quit smoking ages ago and still want a cigarette. The addiction never goes away.
I grew up with a mother who chain smoked around me. I took one puff when I was 13ish, that's all. I STILL crave cigarettes when I'm stressed. I don't know if it's from the second hand smoke or from "learning" from my mom who smoked.
Feed the need, boys! You're all gonna die of something so you might as well have a hand in deciding your own fate.
It's better to quit now or ASAP then to end up being the spokesperson on the "Tips from Former Smoker" campaigns.
I haven't smoked in 5+ yrs and i definitely do not want one, i smell people smoking and can't figure out how i did it for so long 🤣
Hardest addiction I’ve ever had to quit! And Ive been around the block with addiction!
I absolutely remember Joe Camel from his entirety. Several friends of mine had gathered enough Camel Cash to get Jackets, backpacks and Zippo lighters. I happen to have a Camel backpack handed down to me from a friend. It was ridiculous how many Camel Cash you needed to get one of these items.
Yeah, I still got the engraved Zippo lighter from them. For a while they gave away t-shirts if you called a toll free number. We hit up everyone we knew , smoker or not, called in and a had a ton of those (one per household).
Every now and then one of those Camel cash will show up in a drawer. Quit smoking years ago.
As a kid born in the early 80s, I can attest to seeing this guy advertised everywhere. Also, I did find his look appealing lol. Luckily I never started smoking
I can confirm. Billboards and in magazine ads in the waiting room at the doctor's office. Joe Camel was everywhere except on TV, which was the domain of Bud Light's Spuds MacKenzie.
if they did just a art book of Joe Camel's ads i would buy it in a heartbeat
Same here!
I happen to have two copies hardback the complete history of Joe camel has every piece of advertisement ever made of Joe camel and his four friends, Floyd-Bustah Max and Eddie still in the boxes, never been opened, make me an offer I will only sell one and I also happen to have one of the largest Joe collection camels in the nation. Quite probably the largest, I kid you not .If you ever want to be amazed and asked me to post some of my photos, all my pieces are mint! not a finger print on a single piece everything still in their original boxes over 2000 pieces starting off with about 300 lighters, mostly zippo’s never been opened never been touched
"A Camel Named Joe: The Illustrated Story of an American Pop Icon" you're welcome
THANK YOU@@exn1h1lon1h1lf1t
Since you are a collector, maybe you know how many of the pool tables were redeemed with camel cash? That thing was sweet.@@rafterman59
I remember saving the bucks from the packs and showed my dad how rich I was. He never saw them added up like that. The look on his face is in my mind now. Just realizing all that could have been REAL money if he didn't smoke..
I’ve never thought of Joe Camel to appeal to children. When I was a kid, his ads didn’t make sense to me. Why would beautiful women be attracted to a camel smoking a cigarette? I thought it was weird. Definitely didn’t make me want to smoke.
same. Other thing did make me want to smoke, but never Joe.
When logical thinking beats a marketing strategy, it's obvious that the company is slowly running out of ideas.
It was the giant shlong on his face that attracted the babes.
It did for me and all my Camel smoking friends
Right!? It truly never even caught my eye, let alone make me want to take up smoking. My own stupid curiosity because a friend was smoking caused me to pick up the habit.
This narrator is great. Delivery, humor & tone are great. Reminds me of the actor, Marc Evan Jackson.
PS... today is my 1 year anniversary of being smoke free
congratulations 👏
¡first year -- and manyyy morrre!
@@deboralee1623 thank you for the support!
Keep it up! 🙌🏻
@@bettysmith4641 thank you!
I grew up with this mascot and never wanted to smoke because of it. It was an attempt to make my ex wife leave that hooked me. Said she would leave if I smoked but it was another of her lies.
Furthermore, being a smoker does not make one more popular or hip. Quite the reverse, in fact. I know I've been a smoker since 1989. And I didn't start because of a Camel cartoon. When I saw my father smoking, I wanted to emulate him.
Yeah I grew up in the '80s and I never once looked at a Joe Camel ad and thought oh I want to smoke.
Why didn't you just grow a pair and get a divorce instead of picking up a disgusting habit?
@@cleverusername9369 she wouldn't leave and kept spreading rumors that I was abusive. I was 18 she was 30. And actually I was puny back then. She was able to rip me to the floor by grabbing my hair. That was her main thing. She did way more
@@lucidexistance1 I'm so sorry that you were taken advantage of like that but glad to hear she's an ex now
I was born in 96 and knew who he was as a kid. Neither parents smoked but I still saw him EVERYWHERE. And this was several years after it was ended
When I was little, like kindergarten age, Joe Camel was my "imaginary friend" Told a friend about it in high school, and that's when she realized, how impactfull that campaign was on children.
I remember in high school people talking about how the cigarette company had hidden visuals in the original camel on the pack and that they got in trouble for making Joe’s face look like a man’s genitals. Yeah I never smoked in my life and that cartoon only made me not want to even more.
That’s weird, because I always thought his lips looked like a vagina.
True. There was the additional claim that in the original package art there was a dude standing with hands on hips and an erect penis.
Coors did something similar in the '90s. They had a mascot called the beerwolf; basically a cool werewolf that drank Coors. He became popular among teens. Lots of kids at my school (including myself) had beerwolf t-shirts.
In fifth grade we would constantly talk about the Budweiser frogs and chameleons. I was a huge fan of reptiles and critters, so naturally I was drawn towards these ads. Interestingly enough, I now own a panther chameleon probably due to those commercials.
Long story short, never hire a ferret to do a weasels job.
kids gotta start somwhere.
@@nightshadehelis9821
Bud
Weis
Er
Red dog beer had branded stuffed red bulldogs you could win at my local amusement park in the late 90’s. Super popular with us teens back then.
While bad, it's still more of a visceral reaction to see a kid smoking than it is to see them sneak a sip of beer
I was already a smoker in my early 20s, and these campaigns did convince me to switch to Camel Lights and they were actually good cigs. It appears to have been an incredibly successful ad campaign in retrospect. But for me, it was just the ads and Camel Bucks. One thing that was left out of this post is there were experts also complaining that it was that they were selling underage sex because the character's depiction was very 'penis-like'. True. At the time, I found all the outcry silly. You can't force kids to smoke. Kids like I was, have always been drawn to that dangerous habit. Sure, during that time more were starting with Camels instead of Marlboro reds like I did in my teens, but that was just great marketing, plain and simple. Isn't that what America all about? (sarcasm)
I haven't smoked actual cigs for 10 yrs thanks to something else people complain about. Vaping. If you don't know, you don't know, but I can say for a fact switching to vaping almost certainly saved my life. My morning ritual before then was to wake up sick and cough up God knows what into the sink before work where we would hotbox cigs in the most difficult of weather because workplace restrictions got tighter and tighter.
I never want anyone to pick up this terrible habit and a bunch of ya'll might call me an idiot, weak, etc., etc. But was/is a different time, and knowing is half the battle! GI Joe!
Joe Camel did look vaguely like a penis. There was a band that released a song called "Touch My Joe Camel".
Vaping saved my Dad's life. It irritated his throat. Told his doctor about it...doc ordered up a chest xray just as a precaution...eventually found out he had stage 4 lung cancer...couple years later and he is currently cancer free. Without vaping the smooth camels/reds would have tricked him into not knowing about his lung cancer.
@@buckhutton7697 I am very happy your Pops on the recovery Friend.
indeed, Camel Lights were so much better than any other flavour. Now, Camel non filters, those are really rough, for professional smokers only!
Quit smoking eight years ago after twenty years thanks to vaping. I was a Camel Filter/ Marlboro Red guy who'd quit once for a year, but was hooked harder when I started smoking again after a breakup. May have vaped a year or two at most. Without that option, I'd likely never have quit. I'm certain vaping will have saved years of my life when all is said and done.
My buddies mom worked in a smoking bar and the patrons would leave her Marlboro miles as a tip, after 3 years they had the pool table and couch which were two of the top miles
This makes me want to revisit a film called "Thank You For Smoking". But in all honesty, as a non-smoker, for novelty purposes, I kinda dig the Joe Camel merch; I bet it'd be considered collector's items from a weirder non-existent era.
I remember my parents and a lot of people smoking growing up. It’s insane to think now all of my social circle at 30 do not smoke, yet younger people are huge fans of vapes. I feel grateful that maybe my decade just missed the nicotine rush (though it could just be my environment)
Idk about that. Im 34, and still smoke. Everyone I knew growing up smoked. Easily 95% of everyone I associated with smoked. Different areas of the country operate differently I'd imagine.
I too fall in between the smokers and vape crowd and I too find it odd that we got so lucky to not get hooked on cigarettes nor vapes. It really seems vapes have taken off where I live and I wonder what horror stories we'll hear as those kids start to get sick and pass away.
And in a few short years we would be hearing that vaping is even worse than smoking as all the evidence would be out. Then many shall quit vaping as they see all the suffering associated with it.
Nicotine is highly addictive, smoke or vape. I was born in 1960, when all adults smoked. My Mum started, in Med School, to fit in. My Dad eventually quit, but she was hooked, using nicotine gum until she died.
Being born in the 21st century I saw quite a few youths vaping growing up, but I think things are beginning to settle now. I know many who now smoke only weed and reject the poison of nicotine.
I didn’t smoke Camel as a kid because of Joe - I smoked them because of the smooth, toasted flavor…
Born in 84, I’m a total Camel kid. Long car rides were rewarded with a sighting of Joe on a billboard along the way. Although I only dabbled is cigarettes, I smoked camels and years later I bought some fun merchandise off eBay. Those posters and cool! 😁✌️😮💨
I'm a Marlboro man myself. Born in 82.
In all seriousness, please proofread your postings ahead of time. Writing or typing the English language is really quite easy despite what non-English speaking ppl will tell you. Thanks! Have a great evening.
I remember my mom bringing me a bunch of Joe content home since she worked in a store that sold cigarettes and even getting things in the mail, but it didn't make me want to smoke.
Suggestion: Another cigarette ad campaign that targeted a specific demographic. The Virginia Slims "You've come a long way, baby!" ads that targeted female smokers. The gist of it was, part of being a liberated women included having the right to smoked without being judged, or restricted by a patriarchal society.
As much as one doesn’t want to admit having a cigarette allowed females an opportunity to have conversations and power in negotiations and conversations with male colleagues who normally would not want to speak with them otherwise.
I agree, there’s a really interesting history of tobacco companies piggybacking on feminist movements to try to get women to smoke. All the way back to the Torches of Freedom campaign in 1929
Sure. But they’re smelly losers who chase trends.
So I’m not sure that juice is worth the squeeze.
Effectiveness of ads show how little free will er have
I recall seeing those ads as a cynical, cigarette-hating child, looking st my mom, and asking "come a long way? Where exactly are they insinuating that you started out, mom?"
It's funny you included Poochie the Dog in this video (or perhaps intentional) as he describes himself as 'part Joe Camel' in his introductory song.
Another weird ad campaign was when McDonald's tried to appeal more to young adults. There was one TV ad where Ronald McDonald is shown partying and dancing in a night club. Ronald was really getting his groove on. I guess he was tired of hanging out with crazy cartoony puppet characters and talking puppet menu items.
There’s a reason the Arch Deluxe flopped.
remember mac tonight?
Ciharette companies new ad campaigns: Reverse psychology, and making non-smokers look cringey as fuck.
Look up any of the "truth campaign" ads of the last 15-almost 20 years, specifically the ones that try to tap into "MeMe CuLtUrE!!!! ErRrR MaH GoD ReMeMbEr CaTs GuYs?!?!?" Type humor.
Cigarette companies are required by law to invest %XX of their profits into anti-smoking campaigns. So this is what they do. They make the commercials so loud, obnoxious and unfunny, the only reaction you can possibly have to ask yourself "how can I set myself apart from the assholes depicted here?" And the easiest answer to that is.....
SMOKE A CIGARETTE!
Fucking genius if you ask me. Hell, I got in trouble in middle school for commenting on how stupid the ads were, and how condescending it felt that it was supposedly done with my demographic in mind. I wasn't trying to defend smoking AT ALL, just comment on the terrible execution being done, and here the teachers were practically telling me I had it all wrong, while simultaneously telling us "smoking is so bad the companies have to campaign against themselves, also those campaigns aren't bad at all and totally true" and didn't see the stupidity in their thought process.
Did they show him smoking?
Tobacco, I mean.
My dad despised Joe Camel (he's a oncologist) and I remember he was thrilled when they retired the character
I remember Joe Camel. This is how old I am: I was s kid when the "I'd walk a mile for a Camel" ad campaign was a thing.
I'm 56 in May, so you must be ....? I'm not rude, my Mother taught me better then that!
I used to smoke camel Turkish gold cigarettes and one time in college I was standing outside the lecture hall smoking a camel and my English professor came by and saw what I was smoking and said "Camels? Great! My father thanks you!"
I was taken aback by his unusual enthusiasm and asked "why would he thank me?" He laughed and said "Oh, because he's an attorney for R.J. Reynolds!" Definitely made me think a bit about what I was doing... I didn't quit then but did a few years later cold turkey.
I still have a Joe Camel pool cue that was endorsed by Steve Mizerak! And it's not a piece of junk, it's a two piece and it shoots well!
I still have the same one to this very day.
Amazing to think how little that Family Guy episode was exaggerating.
"The last thing we want is for children to start smoking."
"Well, what about that graph that says 'The first thing we want is for kids to start smoking'?"
"Oh, that's just something my son made in art class."
"Oh. W-well, what about that sign that says 'The graph wasn't made in art class. We really want kids to start smoking'?"
I had just about everything I could get my hands on in the Camel cash book that was released at one time. Of course I couldn’t get the outdoor ultimate patio set with hot tub and grill for 200,000 camel cash but all of the lighters, jackets, shirts, ash trays etc. I had just about every person I knew that smoked giving me their camel cash. I was only 13 at the time and it was easy to just lie about your age on the mail in ordering form. At one time you could even order cigs by mail. But the whole point is, yes kids were driven and enticed by cig companies to smoke and be rewarded for doing so. Remember Marlboro miles? Those were a big hit as well!
As a kid I always wondered why so many of those programs where you have to buy or sell a product to earn points you redeem for prizes always had that 1 prize no sane person could ever get. When i was a kid our school had us all selling magazine subscriptions and the top prizes were so insanely expensive the top seller of our school of 700+ kids couldnt even afford it. I remember seeing rewards programs for things like Camel Cash that would have things like cars that you'd need to spend like $500k to be able to win it.
I'm surprised my dad never got into Marlboro Miles, he used to smoke 4-6 packs of those a day. We could have gone to Hawaii once a year!
Alot of people's lungs remember Marlboro miles...
I remember as a kid we would go on walks with my dad to find Marlboro packs to get the points off of them. It was a lot of fun and we got some cool stuff for it. My dad is not a smoker, nor is my sister or I. In fact, I never even tried. Either my dad was really good at telling us how bad it is or their promotional tactic did not work on us.
Joe Camel was a few years gone by the time I was born, but there was still quite a lot of him around in my early childhood in the form of merch. The t-shirts are the main thing I remember. Even though my dad didn't smoke camels, I think he had at least one shirt. It's still hard for me to believe that even after all that evidence emerged on how the ads were attracting children, some governing body didn't step in and pull the ads.
Of course, you don't bite the hand that feeds you
Everyone in the 90’s walked around in Camel shirts at school. Camel and Marbs.
Yes! You're right. I remember seeing Joe Camel in early 2000s on magazines since smoking ads were relevant in Greece even in 2018. Yeah full smoking ads in billboards and everything baby!
Does reality not serve enough evidence that money will always be more valuable than human lives?
"some governing body didn't step in and pull the ads"
That would be "big gument taking away mah rights!"
As an ex smoker, who has never even heard of the camel cartoon until this video, I can hand on heart say, when I was abroad on holiday or wanted to treat myself to a good packet, I'd smoke camel, in my 30s now and smoke free for 2 years but god not a day goes by 😂🐫
Every time I see camel cigarettes I think of being shown the ‘naked man’ on the camel’s shoulder/leg by a middle school classmate. Now I can’t unsee it 😂😂😂
Not one child looked at a cartoon Camel and said to themselves 'hey I want to smoke like that cartoon.'
Ahhh the 80s! A time when Joe Camel and Spuds MacKenzie could run wild with their coolness. They both debuted in the US at about the same time funny enough.
Spuds MacKenzie! I forgot about that dog until you mentioned it. What a crazy time to be alive.
My friend wore a Winston backpack to school in 4th grade in the 90s. No one cared or never questioned why such a thing existed, I guess for all the adults who wear cheap backpacks.
I remember going to Disney with the entire family wearing Joe Camel T shirts except for my brother was only two. Apparently they didn't make them small enough. And the yellow rain jacket was like wearing a sweat suit made out of a plastic bag.
I grew up in this era. 90% of six year olds absolutely did NOT have a clue who joe camel was OR what a frickin cigarette was, let alone link the two together. If these advocation groups werent always as shady as the companies they go against maybe I could get behind them, but it's always exaggerated bullcrap from both sides.... which makes me just not care about the issue at all.
I had a friend in high school whose dad worked at RJ Reynolds. I lived in Pinnacle, NC which was 20 min from Winston Salem where the RJ headquarters was. He brought us a huge box of Camel cash he "took" from the factory. We got so much camel merchandise with those! I was 16.
As a joco native, I had no idea this was so close to home. It also explains the Joe Camel clock by grandpa bought in the 70s
Thanks for remembering Joe
Smoke shop down the road still has a huge Joe cardboard display 😆
I was an adult when Joe Camel appeared, because I was an adult non smoker, who had just watched my mother endure the process of quitting I wasn’t about to start. I’m glad I didn’t, as I have ADHD and it would have been hell to quit. My mom later said that she felt guilty for smoking as long as she did, because it hurt me, told her that she shouldn’t, because she presented a VERY powerful anti smoking model.
“The advertising strategy shift examined that musty old logo and boldly asked: what if the camel was vaguely sexy?”
And thus a cigarette company would go forth to litter the world with copious amounts of softcore furry camel art for confused teens everywhere.
...cool. I never got the whole "it looks like a man's genitals" controversy. Joe's nose looks more like a giant cuttlefish. No one has ever compared those to a man's junk.
Every American who chooses not to smoke, is replaced by a "migrant smoker". So, there was no point in removing Joe Camel for advertising purposes.
@@Scorch1028 yeah, i am definitely missing part of the conversation.
I see the third comment but not one and two, is something wrong with my settings?
@@devonhill9099 No RUclips just deletes comments to a ridiculous extent unlike any other time on this platform.
@@johntaranto29 oh, in that case…how the hell did my comment of implied camel furry porn lead to migrant Mexican smokers?
Camels used to be my brand, but they reformulated the cigarette and added a thick paper liner to their cigarettes that completely changed the flavor and sensation of the smoke. I switched back to Marlboro after a 5 year hiatus from smoking.
And their next genius move was to make the whole thing so controversial that we'd be talking about it for years to come. No such thing as Bad Publicity.
talking about it for years to come means nothing to the company if it doesn't translate to sales. Cig sales been down for 20 years and just went up last year bc of the panini press...
Edit: Unless you're Michael Jackson, there's no such thing as bad publicity.
This was all done so they can play the fucking master settlement game, states get tons of money every year now for smokers, that's why states started banning flavored vape juice, it was causing adults to quit smoking. States took loans out against this money and now they get less when vaping helps people quit, the state will most certainly want a cigarette in the mouth of citizens if it means they still get that money flowing in.
I was a teen in the 1970s and looked at quite a few Playboys, Penthouses, and Hustler magazines. I saw a LOT of liquor and cigarette ads. None encouraged me to start smoking or drinking.
Sure do remember Joe Camel, I was a teenager during the 90s. I had several items bought with Camel cash. My favorite item is a pool cue that I still have to this day. Never smoked a Camel cigarette in my entire life. All of the Camel cash I saved was through friends and family or found on discarded cigarette packs.
As a High school smoker hanging out on the school field in the 80s, whenever a kid pulled out a packet of Camels, we all took a look at it's cool package. Strong but harsh and no filter 20s.
Looking back, I smoked as a teen and was angry that anyone would want to take my right to smoke away. Now that I'm an adult, I can see that cigarette companies were downright predatory and downright evil. I still remember stealing a Virginia Slim from my mother around four years old and trying it behind our shed. I immediately coughed and my mom caught me, she was absolutely horrified.
bro at 4 years old... you were already corrupted before the cigarette companies even got to to you.
It's good to have leaned from this 🙏🙏 you have evolved! Glad you understand now that it isn't always about what you think it is.
Hopefully society feels this way about the junkfood industry in a few years. America's the fattest nation on Earth & obesity is the #1 preventable cause of illness & death now that tobacco use is down. I'm all for personal freedom (I'm pro-legalization of all drugs) but corporations shouldn't have the right to peddle poison without any oversight whatsoever. No lying or unethical practices. My mom smoked 3 packs a day while I was in the womb which I'm pretty sure set me up for ADHD & a tendency to substance abuse that my siblings don't have (she quit before having them).
The company also strategically placed large Joe Camel ads in convenience stores across the front counter where the candy was usually kept. This way the kids would be sure to see him and be conditioned to associate the brand with buying candy as they grew up.
That's comic-book supervillain-level of an evil plan right there!
😂😂
I moved to the US from Mexico in 2004 and they still had the adds in magazines and the cash points. If I ever smoke again, I'll smoke camels for the nostalgia... thanks for making this video, now I want to smoke cigarettes.
I started smoking camels in the late 80's, I stopped in 2021... they're not kidding about brand loyalty... and had so much Joe Camel swag! Most of my high school pictures has me wearing a Joe Camel hat (Camel Bucks)... graduated in '93...
I'm late to the party. But don't forget about candy cigarettes. These weren't made by the tobacco companies. I remember fondly acting like I was smoking with friends when we got these around Halloween. They did taste like chalk and sugar.
I remember Joe Camel 🐫from the late 80s. Sadly all of us kids that were born in the late 70s to early 80s though he was cool. I saw commercials, billboards, and advertising in magazines. As an adult I know now it wasn’t cool. All that definitely helped me inevitably become a smoker. I’m glad I’ve been off cigarettes since 2015.
Congratulations!
Cartoons have never sold me on tabacky, but cartoon characters have sold me a boat load of cereal.
I remember being a high school senior and drew Joe Camel in art class. I didn’t smoke, and come from an LDS family. My mom was a bit worried, but when she showed it to one of our high priests, he said it was a good drawing. 😄
I had to read this comment 3 times, trying to figure out what an LSD family would look like: Dad's in the den rolling a doobie and listening to Jefferson Airplane on the 8-track, Mom's baked and baking cookies in the psychedelic kitchen, and the kids are encouraged to paint on the floors and certain walls of the house to enhance their creative sides.
@@TheyForgotMySalad this is great
@@matthewgonzales9517 it's terrible. I did it too.
@@TheyForgotMySalad 🥴🤯
Joe camel never convinced me to smoke camels, it was how cool the box looked
Leave it to the Weird History channel to remind me that I'm getting old.
Just like Recollection Road Channel.
I chose my first brand of smokes based on the the display and seeing the colourful boxes. But here in Canada it became illegal to show off the smokes and finally made it so the companies had to use a plain brown box regardless of brand.
Oddly enough, today is my 11-year anniversary of quitting smoking cigarettes! I owe it to a book: "Alan Carr's Easy Way To Quit Smoking".
Hello Alan Carr lol jk
congrats.
@@zoso1up I only wish! The guy has sold millions of these books!
¡keep goin'!
@@questfortruth665 lol I was just joking with you.
I think the study involving 3 and 6 year old's was heavily biased against the cigarette makers. They probably just saw the cigarette and knew what it was because a family member of theirs smoked.
75 years and still smokin'? Dang, Joe's an old man and immune to cancer!
I met someone like that, they died eventually but they started smoking in grade school all the way into their 70s. My uncle started smoking regularly when he was around 8 or 10 and by high school he was smoking a pack a day and after he turned 18 it turned into a 4+ pack a day habit. Once he turned 60 he "cut back" to 1-2 packs a day and somehow he avoided cancer until 65 but even that didnt get him to quit. He's in remission now but still smoking.
I was lucky enough to get cancer at 15 and I'll tell you what: there's few things as surreal as seeing someone in their 70s or 80s needing the nurse to wheel them and their IV machine outside so they can smoke while they're getting chemo pumped into their veins. I saw a woman who looked older than my grandma (like mid 80s but cancer/chemo ages you) and she was sitting in a wheelchair when it was cold and raining, sitting under the awning smoking a cigarette with multiple bags of chemo going into her.
He eats an entire pack of bacon per day and drinks a gallon of coffee too.. some people be like that. 🤷♂️
My stepdads grandmother smoked everyday from the time she was 15 until she was 98.
I drew Joe Camel for my 8th grade art project, and my teachers allowed me. What a time back then
Remember seeing so many restaurants in the 90s with Joe Camel posters. Now we have Don Draper as the best smoking ad man.
Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny and the myriad of other cartoon characters were not created expressively for children, they were created for adults in movie theaters, to entertain the kid in everybody. Over the years, cartoons became associated with children. The original Flintstones smoked Winstons and were not accused of targeting children
This video gave me flashbacks to when I was in my middle school health class, where there was a PLETHORA of both vintage smoking and anti-smoking posters and the Joe Camel poster was one of the biggest one. And that same teacher also smoked Camel. Coincidence? I think not! 😬🤦🏻♀️
Literally watched an old man with a prosthetic arm with that metal hook for a hand open a fresh pack of filterless camels, pull one out and bend it to a circle. It never even ripped the paper.
I still have some Camel Joe merchandise :)
I remember being in the 5th grade and they held a field trip/outing to a highschool 🏟️ stadium for what they called a "DRUG-FREE JAMBOREE!" THEY CARRIED AROUND A LIFE-SIZE JOE CAMEL IN A COFFIN AND CALLED THE SKIT "THE DEATH OF JOE CAMEL🐪!"😂😂😂
I smoked Winston's in grade school as a kid because of the old cartoon ad of the Flintstones from the 1960s plus started drinking beer because the Flintstones did it first
Plus bought a rocket powered pair of roller skates and 50 miles of train tracks because of Wile E Coyote
How are you still alive after all that?
I remember the magazine ads. But, the convenience store I work at is so old that they still have a bunch of hand baskets in the back that have Joe Camel on them.
He only came up in the US in 87? I'm shocked!
Yeah to me it feels like the kind of thing that would be around since like the 50s or 60s
Yes. RJ Reynolds created him because during the 80s, Cigarettes were extremely unpopular with youth.
I haven't smoked cigarettes for 20 years a long time, but I remember when this Camel cigarette was too hard for me to smoke, it was simply saturated
Despite the negative effects on the children, one does have to admit the ad campaign was successful. There are most definitely pros and cons of Joe Camel.
Yep, I remember going down to the corner Bodega to buy my old man his Non Filtered Camels in the 70's when I was like seven!!
I remember the ice cream trucks in the 90's Sold candy cigarettes ...
Yaaaa for real . The tip I believe had even a hint of red like it being lit.
It sort of had a chalk taste or like the stick to the " stick N Dip " candy.
.....had myself a two pack a day habit. Till my mom found out her change jar was getting pretty light.
Nevertheless, don't smoke kids
I remember old Joe from the early 90s in those classic cigarette dispensers/vending machines. But it never encouraged me to smoked, even though my grandfather smoked camel studs.
I remember him, my grandpa smoked camels, never inspired me to smoke though. I actually paid attention in health and that was enough for me not to smoke.
I remember Joe Camel. He wasn’t shut down until 1996. In fact, The William Jefferson Blythe Administration held RJ Reynolds accountable for their Illegal subliminal campaign.
I am glad you didn’t smoke. I didn’t realize how bad the nicotine gets on household items, the walls, and even your ice maker. And for that, I refuse to eat from my cousin’s house. It’s so bad she has an ash tray where she cooks and does laundry
@@jgallardo7344 : when I worked as a hospital maternity nurse, a grateful family member brought in a big potion of Rice Krispie treats - as a thank-you. Not long after she brought them, we all grabbed one (hadn’t eaten that day)....... but...... they were so very disgusting because they tasted like a full ashtray smells‼️😱🥴🤢 We all spit out the portion we had stared to eat and threw the rest in the dirty utility trash can. The person was pleased to see that they were all gone and offered to make us more‼️ We assured this person that we just didn’t need anymore treats.
@@slcRN1971 🤮🤮🤮 that is so disgusting. To think of all the nicotine that collected on the mixing bowls and baking pans. Thank God, you all threw that in the trash.
I learned the hard way about nicotine when my cousin was trying to be a nice soul. She gave us a bag of ice from her ice maker to help us thaw a turkey. My roommate was weary about using it knowing my cousin’s house is a smoker’s house. I thought she was crazy making me smell the ice, but i smelled it - it reeked of nicotine. To think of all the nicotine that was in food at grocery stores and restaurants when it was legal to smoke indoors.
As my cousin is downsizing and trying to sell her house, she’s learning the hard way, that more people don’t smoke and it’s greatly condemned. People don’t want items like clothes and furniture from a smoker’s house as it’s damaged from nicotine and ash. She’s also going to have trouble selling her house
I’m glad you mentioned former congressman Henry Waxman. His legislation to ban all cigarette advertising was among the multitude of Consumer related legislation he sponsored. Maybe he’s not a national name, but well known to those of us in Southern California. He has a great replacement in Congress (Ted Lieu) but mr. Waxman’s impact will long be remembered.
Joe Camel, Spuds Mackenzie, the Taco Bell Chihuahua, the Hamm's Bear. Some of the advertising characters of my lifetime.
In 1995 me and and one of my college friends saved enough Camel Bucks to get a Camel kayak... which never touched the water. As of 2022 it's still hanging in my parents garage.
I remember growing up in the peak Joe Camel era. I thought he looked so cool in those magazine advertisements. I never smoked myself so the campaign didn't work on me. I just thought Joe was doing all the cool stuff that I would get to do when I was an adult.
Thank you for this video ! 😊🌺
What’s scary is I’m 30 and I remember this guy and a commercial he was in ….
You must not be from the US. They banned commercials in the 70' here. But the ads were everywhere.
@@raggedymanxl5166 I’m from the US but saw it on a trip abroad wish I could remember where you know instead of a camel cartoon with tar lung but hey lol
@@raggedymanxl5166 Cigarette ads were banned from US Television in January 1972. Japan in August 1979 and in the UK in February 1985. Which means in the UK, Cigarette ads were STILL on TV as late as ‘84.
@@plawson8577 yeah I know.
@@benlasky9414 Crazy LOL! I remember when they banned liquor ads.
Old Gold did not have a cartoon character. But they also had coupons that could be collected and used to purchase certainly items.
This calls for a video about Edward Bernays who got women to start smoking for the first time in history. Millions of women have died of lung cancer as a result of his skillful propaganda.
He was even hired by the US government to sell wars to the public
tip of iceberg.
you justify torturing children in GITMO with your taxes because "being poor is gross."
just ASSuming you to be a US taxpayer...
And 25 years later I still stash my weed in my Smoking Joe racing tin,quit smoking cigarettes 4 years ago but get my memories everytime I crack open my stash...thanks for the memories Joe
Indeed the ad campaign was intended for as young a target market as possible. It was the early 90s and unfortunately for 6 years prior I had been a smoker. The most popular brand among my peer group was Marlboro. Light cigarettes targeted us like deer in the headlamps. By 91 I had switched to Camel Wides which were the Joe Camel cigarettes. I was definitely going to smoke Wides from then on...
I use to Love those wife's.... Especially the "25 Packs" yummy 😍
my dad started smoking Marlboros when he was around 12, partially because of the Marlboro Man ads making it seem like the Manly Man cigarette and since all boys at the time idolized westerns and the ads had a strong cowboy vibe.
Joe Camel wasn't targeted towards kids back then any more than Bud light's Spuds Mackenzie was. Animal and cartoon figures for smoking back then were targeted by advocacy groups, but not ones for alcohol, because smoking restriction laws were becoming common then. Now, it has become "common knowledge" that these were targeted towards kids, when that fact had been nothing more than an accusation back then by these groups.
Hamms beer bear. I loved the ads as a child but never was able to get any of the beer!!! OR want to!!!
The fact they could get away with it for any length of time is proof we as a species are pretty fucked.
"If they'll buy poison, they'll buy anything!" Quark - Deep Space Nine
You walked a mile for a cigarette. I went to prison for my first camel😂😂😂🤣
Anyone else smokin a cig rn lol
Nicotine pouch and nasal snuff
Camel Filters!
Being 41 years old I remember all the cigarette campaigns the Marlboro man Joe Camel and the Newport aids were everyone was hanging out on a beach etc etc I don't remember them making me think oh smoking is cool cause a camel is lighting up or some younger people hanging and smoking on a beach my own family was more of the negative impact then commercial tactics... Great upload
Before "millenials" were 18 big tobacco settled with the government despite addicting them all...
I stand by this til this day, Camel Joe was not for kids.
I remember Joe from when I was a fairly young kid. Idk if it was due to age, or due to my abusive father being a chain smoker (or the specific Joe Camel ad the local convenience store had), but I always found him super creepy.
My preferred cigarrettes were Camel Lights before I quit (though my next favorites were Camel Special Lights then Camel Turkish gold).
It was so difficult to quit, they engineer them to be so addictive.