The Disadvantages
Benson & Hedges 100's1966
The Disadvantages is a 1966 60-second television commercials (campaign) for Benson & Hedges 100's, created by Wells Rich Greene, New York.
The line
Oh, the disadvantages of Benson & Hedges 100's.
Why it works
A rapid sequence of two-second black-and-white vignettes in which smokers discover all the awkward ways an extra-long cigarette gets in the way of ordinary life. Written by Dick Rich and art-directed by Stewart Greene in the first months of Wells Rich Greene, and directed by Howard Zieff, the films launched a new 100mm cigarette by cheerfully listing its “disadvantages”, so that every gag doubled as proof of the extra length and the extra puffs that came with it. It is studied as a signature piece of the 1960s creative revolution on television: fast, visual, self-mocking selling that treated the viewer as someone who enjoys being let in on the joke, and a lesson in how admitting a flaw can make a claim memorable. Ad Age ranked it No. 32 among the 100 best campaigns of the 20th century, and when Rich died in 2014 The New York Times cited it among the spots with which he helped redefine television advertising.
Techniques
- Card stacking Cheerfully lists the awkward disadvantages of an extra-long cigarette, so each supposed flaw quietly advertises the extra length and extra puffs.
- Humour Rapid two-second vignettes of smokers caught out by the cigarette's length make the selling fast, visual and self-mocking.
Sources · 3
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