Death of Joe Camel (Jim Borgman, 1997)

Lots of early TV and magazine advertising was built upon selling cigarettes. Joe Camel was the hip "Joe Cool" version of a marketing icon for the RJReynolds product. Even though advertising cigarettes on TV stopped in 1971, the PR campaign around the hip Joe Camel was unbelievably successful. Research published in the 1990s showed that 6-year olds were as able to link the Joe Camel character with cigarettes as they were to link the Disney brand with Mickey Mouse. In the face of pressure and lawsuits, RJR terminated the Joe Camel character in 1997. A lot of editorial cartoonists marked the end of this era, including Jim "Zits" Borgman, whose cartoon is shown here, from his long run at the Cincinnati Enquirer.