Disclaimer: Cigarette smoking KILLS more than 480,000 Americans each year. Cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States. It is linked to heart disease, emphysema and cancer.

These TV commercials for Marlboro Cigarettes date to 1956. This was the era before the moment the famous “Marlboro Man” definitively emerged as a cowboy. In these ads, the figures promoting the cancer sticks are gentlemen and sportsmen. At :18, a Southern plantation owner in a string tie offers the “best cigarette west of Virginia” to viewers. At 1:33, the jingle “filter, flavor, flip top box…you get a lot to like with a Marlboro” accompanies a cowboy working on a ranch. At 2:33, a guest at the Beverly Hilton Hotel dives into the swimming pool and enjoys a Marlboro poolside. At 3:20, a fisherman smokes while casting a line. At 4:10, a private pilot smokes a cigarette after landing at a small airport. At 5:11, a rock climber relaxes after scaling a cliff, by smoking a nice lung-destroying Marlboro.

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com