Redman Chewing Tobacco and the MLB: Past and Present
Comparing and Contrasting Chewing Tobacco Ads:
Past and Present
Richard DiStasio
COM416: LEAP 3
Professor Renee Hobbs
The University of Rhode Island
April 11, 2018
Abstract:
Advertisements from two distinctly different time periods used to promote the use of chewing tobacco, or dip, were deeply analyzed to find the similarities and differences in the way that they attempt to captivate and influence the audience of their product. A 1953 antique poster advertising RED MAN, a chewing tobacco product, and a contemporary ad poster have much different appeals to the audience, but both are intending to have the same impact on the attention of its customer. The two ads both utilize strong slogans and and images to grab the attention of its intended audience, one of the main ones being “ Americas Best Chew”, however one was able to utilize an important face in baseball to attract its tobacco chewing customer base.
Introduction:
An advertisements is a form of propaganda that is used to persuade its customer to buy and use their product or service. Chewing tobacco advertisements have often included attention grabbing images and slogans to help grasp the attention of its customers and influence them to utilize their product. In the past, chewing tobacco companies had often put professional baseball players on the cover of their advertisement’s since chewing tobacco was so prominent in the sport of baseball during the time from 1950-1990. Since baseball was such a nationally known sport at the time, with a tremendous fan base, the companies would put some of the biggest faces in baseball on their advertisements such as Babe Ruth. The reason being, that these big public faces would attract the attention of any big time baseball fan, not only increasing the interest in their product but forming a direct association with the MLB. However now, it is rare to see these big faces on chewing tobacco advertisements since the discovery of all the side effects of chewing tobacco and the fact that it causes cancer. Since the discovery of these externalities, the MLB has stepped away from allowing its players to promote a cancer causing product, leaving the chewing tobacco ads of today much different than they used to be. Although the have changed, some of the same tactics are still used today, such as the slogan “ Americas Best Chew”.
Chewing Tobacco propaganda of the past:
Contrary to the types of advertising seen today in chewing tobacco, many chewing tobacco ads in the late 1950’s to early 1970’s utilized the face of a publicly known baseball player to grasp the attention of its customers. According the the pitching legend, Nolan Ryan, “ Chewing peaked in the 1970’s, and dipping took over” showing the heavy usage of chewing tobacco inside a league that many teenagers and even grown men looked up to. Inside stadiums, there were billboards surrounding the bullpens showing advertisements for chewing tobacco. Since there were no studies at the time to show how dangerous this smokeless tobacco was, there were no warning labels on packages to let customers be aware of the consquences of using the product.
The smokeless tobacco ad that I chose to analyze below was the Redman ad from 1953 that utilized pro baseball cards inside its packaging to get the attention of not only men but teen age kids the like. The face of the Advertisement was Johnny Mize, a pro baseball player who was a first baseman for the New York Yankees.
This advertisement strategy of producing a series of baseball cards lasted from 1952-1955 and Red Man was one of the few companies to actually do so after 1920. The advertisement was meant to promote the use of Red Man chew through the usage of Johnny Mize’s public image. They also gave away baseball caps as a promotional gift for the product. On the ad, you can read Mize saying “ my steady chew for years” followed by Red Mans classic slogan, “ Americas Best Chew”. Since Mize was such a prominent figure in the MLB at the time, having him advocate for the product meant a powerful influence over fans of the MLB, especially kids. In the ad you see a tremendous sense of joy on the face of Mize while he tips his cap to the viewer. This depicts a sense of joy associated with using Red Man chew. There are no Cancer warnings or Surgeon warnings to be seen on the whole advertisement which shows the lack of studies behind tobacco usage in the time period. In my opinion, this ad primarily uses the bandwagon technique. Since they depicted such a well known person as an advocate for the product, they figured that fans would begin to use Red Man chew since Johnny Mize did, being such a big image that he was. By using slogans like “Americas Best Chew” they assumed that customers would buy it because it was deemed to be the best by these famous athletes.
Chewing tobacco propaganda of the present:
Now, almost 70 years later, the advertisements for chewing tobacco have taken a completely different turn. In those early years of the 50’s and 60’s, its was a huge misconception that chewing tobacco was actually a safer alternative to smoking cigarettes. However, in 1984, oral cancer took the life of a young teenage track star by the name of Sean Marsee. Marsee had claimed in an interview that he had been dipping since the age of 12, showing the how to glorification of chewing in major league sports had affected the younger end of sports enthusiasts. This instance led the many minor league coaches and teams banning the usage of chewing tobacco at practices and games and the rise of conversation on the topic of Anti-tobacco in baseball. At this time as well, studies had come out showing the negative effects of chewing tobacco and how the product can and will cause multiple types of cancer under heavy use. There was known to be 30 different chemicals that were cancer causing in the chewing tobacco at the time. By 2009, under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act Graphic labels became mandatory in the advertisements for chewing tobacco products.
Above is the new, present day advertisement for Red Man chew. As you can see, they have not strayed from their original logo of the American Indian and their classic logo that states “Americas Best Chew”. Behind the Packages of chew is the american flag which is mean to show the audience the American authenticity of the product and to appeal to the patriotic members of society. The packages all now say things like, “ This product is not a safe alternative to cigarettes” and “ Smokeless tobacco can cause cancer” since the mandatory warning labels have been put into effect. You can also easily notice that they are no longer utilizing public sports figures to promote and sell their product, Since the MLB has moved away from allowing their high profile player’s to promote these cancer causing products. Since they stuck with their original slogan, many die hard chewers are still able to point out their product on the shelf, however the younger crowd of kids from 18-25 no longer have an admirable face to influence them into the usage of chewing tobacco.
Compare and Contrast:
One of the clearest disparities between the 1950’s ad and the newer contemporary ad is the usage of an important public figure to advertise the product. In the 1950’s ad, before the MLB realised the seriousness of the effects of chewing tobacco, they had one of the most famous first basemen of all time Johnny Mize on the ad cover. They also are no longer using free hats and baseball cards as promotional items for the purchase of their product. Now, the ad is much less appealing to the younger crowd, with a basic label and an abundance of surgical warnings on the wrapper to provide as much discouragement as possible. The only truly original aspects of the contemporary ad is the the slogan “ Americas Favorite Chew” and the Red Man native American Indian logo.
When Viewing the advertisements in retrospect, the older propaganda seems as though it was meant to target a younger crowd. As a kid, I remember having a tremendous collection of baseball cards that I would trade amongst my friends pretty often. The fact that they used this card system as an advertisement scheme is a little bit ridiculous being that baseball cards are usually collected by a younger crowd. I can definitely see how the material utilized in the ad was successful, being that as a kid I always looked up to players like Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter. Since the findings of cancer causing chemicals in the tobacco chew, the advertisement schemes for chewing tobacco have become pretty simplistic, with no big public face wanting to advocate for a life threatening hobby or addiction.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, people are constantly mis-guided by ads that utilize famous faces to grab the crowd’s attention. This has been the case for a long time with many products other than chewing tobacco as well. By glorifying the product at hand using public figures who are in the position to effect the thoughts and decisions of his or her fans, companies can often reel in large amounts of customers. This was exactly the case with Red Man. After their baseball card scheme, and the usage of Johnny Mize as the advocate for their product, there was a ten fold spike in the amount of people dipping between the ages of 18-24. This furthermore proves the by utilizing someone in a position of fame or high public image allows for you to have a stronger effect on their decision making and psych. When executed skillfully and correctly, the effects of using public figures for advertisement can be widespread and powerful, and Red Man did just that.
Works Cited
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The Gross History of Baseball and Chewing Tobacco. (2017, December 05). Retrieved April 12, 2018, from https://www.mensjournal.com/adventure/why-baseball-has-never-been-able-to-quit-tobacco-20140820/
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Popova, L., & Ling, P. M. (2014). Retrieved April 12, 2018, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4190284/
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Chewing Advertisement Themes: Red Man. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2018, from
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