Craven A

Craven A (stylized as Craven "A") is a British brand of cigarette, currently manufactured by British American Tobacco under some of its subsidiaries.[1] It was originally created by the Carreras Tobacco Company in 1921 and made by them until its merger into Rothmans International in 1972, who then produced the brand until Rothmans was acquired by British American Tobacco in 1999.

Craven A
Product typeCigarette
OwnerBritish American Tobacco
Produced bySubsidiaries of British American Tobacco
CountryUnited Kingdom
Introduced1921 (1921)
MarketsSee Markets
Previous ownersCarreras Tobacco Company, Rothmans International
Tagline"Will Not Affect Your Throat", "For Your Throat's Sake"
Carcinogenicity: IARC group 1

The cigarette brand is named after the third Earl of Craven,[2] after the "Craven Mixture", a tobacco blend formulated for the 3rd Earl in the 1860s by tobacconist Don José Joaquin Carreras.[3]

History

After the end of World War I, the cigarette market resumed its normal competitive spirit with the Carreras Tobacco Company once more well to the fore. Bernhard Baron, a director of Carreras, knew that to compete successfully his product had to be better than his competitors' and in 1921 Carreras launched Craven "A", using the name of the 3rd Earl of Craven. Presumably its name did not refer to the normal meaning of the word 'craven' (cowardly);[4] beyond the historic connection to the "Craven Mixture" tobacco blend, the year of release of the Craven "A" brand coincided with the well-publicised death of the 4th Earl of Craven in a yachting accident on 10 July 1921. [5] It was the first machine-made cork-tipped cigarette,[2] and it became a household name in over 120 countries with the slogan "Will Not Affect Your Throat".

Rothmans, Benson & Hedges plant in Quebec City, Canada

Following the success of Craven A, several other companies launched cork-tipped cigarettes which enjoyed varying degrees of success. Few (if any) of these remain available as of 2019.

At the same time as Craven A was pioneering a new fashion in cigarette smoking, the competition was moving in on the coupon business. Carreras participated in this market with their Black Cat brand.

The brand was widely used in World War II not only by British soldiers, but in general.[6] Craven A was one of several brands donated by tobacco manufacturers to soldiers' rations in the hope of developing ongoing brand loyalty.

Also during the Second World War, General Charles de Gaulle, in exile in London, had difficulties in obtaining his usual French brown cigarettes brand Gitanes. Consequently, he started smoking Craven A and apparently took a liking to the blonde tobacco, which until then had been rare in occupied France.

Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, chain-smoked fifty Craven A cigarettes a day, even while terminally ill with tuberculosis.

Advertising
Belgian tin of Craven A

Craven 'A' started using the slogan "For Your Throat's Sake" around 1939. It had a famous slogan, "Will Not Affect Your Throat".[7][8]

Many advertising posters were made to promote Craven 'A' cigarettes.[9][10][11]

Counterfeiting

In May 2014, Carreras Limited warned that counterfeit Craven A cigarettes were being sold in Jamaica. The counterfeits were said to be non-compliant with Jamaican Public Health labelling regulations.[12][13]

Markets

Craven 'A' were or still are sold in the following countries: Canada, United States, Jamaica, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Austria, Italy, Cyprus, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Palestine, Vietnam, Malaysia, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Australia.[14][15][16][17]

Sponsorship

The company sponsored the 1981 Craven Mild Cup Rugby League tournament in New South Wales, Australia. Craven 'A' sponsored events in Canada such as the "Just for Laughs" Canadian Comedy Tour in March 1999.[18] The company was also a long-time sponsor of Australian racing driver Allan Grice.

Novels

Craven 'A' cigarettes appeared in the James Bond novel Dr. No. Shanghai beggars in J.G Ballard's novel Empire of the Sun are described as 'shaking their Craven A tins like reformed smokers.'

Craven 'A' cigarettes are mentioned in Patricia Highsmith's novel The Price of Salt, where they are smoked by Carol, one of the main characters. They are not shown in the 2015 film of the novel.

Craven 'A' cigarettes are also mentioned in the Irish author Benjamin Black's mystery book "Even the Dead", where they are smoked by Lisa Smith, a young lady in distress. Quote from the book:'She opened her handbag and took out a packet of Craven A and a box of matches.'

Craven ‘A’ cigarettes were also the cigarettes of choice for the father of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, as mentioned in the book by his younger sister, Fatima Jinnah. [19]

Music

The name of this brand is taken anecdotally in the song Les Bêtises by Sabine Paturel and in "Le Chien" by Léo Ferré.[20][21] The name "Craven A" is also included in the song "Tendresse et amitié" by Robert Charlebois and the text is written by Réjean Ducharme.[22] The brand is also mentioned in the 1982 song Lost Mi Love by Yellowman.[23]

Films

According to his biographer, the French actor Jean Gabin was a regular smoker of filterless Craven A, which he alternated with Gitanes. In the film Pasha, a package of Craven A is visible on the desk of "Commissioner Louis Joss", Gabin, as well as in Le cave se rebiffe.

In the 1978 film Death on the Nile, Simon Doyle is asked by Monsieur Poirot if his fiancée, the wealthy heiress Linnet Ridgeway, smokes, to which he responds "Just Craven 'A'".

See also

References
  1. "Overview of our portfolio". BAT website.
  2. "Containers, tin, Cigarettes 'Craven A' - Victorian Collections".
  3. "The Illustrious History of the Craven Mixture". 4 March 2015.
  4. Corbeil, Busby (August 1967). Higher-Order Etymology in Product Branding: A Cross-Market Study (PhD). University of Iowa Archives: University of Iowa. p. 173. The British Craven A cigaret brand serves to illustrate this type of post-facto intersected marque denotational ambiguity; the dictionary definition of the adjective 'craven' standing in stark contrast to what one presumes is the positive connotations of the Earl of Craven for whom they were (officially) named.
  5. "EARL OF CRAVEN DROWNED IN SOLENT; Believed to Have Fallen Off His Yacht in the Fight While His Crew Were Asleep. MARRIED CORNELIA MARTIN A Member of the Royal Household, He Was Well Known to Americans" (PDF). The New York Times. 11 July 1921. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  6. "Packet of Craven 'A' cigarettes, London, England, 1920-1950". Science Museum Group.
  7. "For Your Throat's Sake! Ten Beautiful Craven 'A' Cigarette Ads from the 1930s. - Flashbak". 5 September 2014.
  8. "Stubbed out: the 21 most iconic cigarette packets of all time". The Telegraph.
  9. "Vintage Tobacco/ Cigarette Ads (Page 28) of Miscellaneous Years". www.vintageadbrowser.com.
  10. "Craven A (Cigarettes, Tobacco Smoking) 1930 — Cigarettes — vintage French original advert". hprints.com.
  11. "Advert". retro40s.nl. Retro 40s.
  12. Limited, Jamaica Observer (28 May 2014). "Counterfeit Craven A cigarettes on the market -- Carreras". Jamaica Observer.
  13. "Carreras Warns Of Counterfeit Craven 'A' Cigarettes - SunCity 104.9 FM". www.suncityradio.fm.
  14. "BrandCraven 'A' - Cigarettes Pedia". www.cigarettespedia.com.
  15. "Craven". www.zigsam.at.
  16. "Brands". www.cigarety.by.
  17. "Brands". www.cigarety.by.
  18. "Craven A: Just for laughs". smoke-free.ca. 1999. Archived from the original on 2005-02-07. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
  19. Jinnah, Fatima (2021). My Brother. Lahore, Pakistan: Peace Publication. p. 33. ISBN 978-969-9988-39-4.
  20. "Les bêtises". Paroles2Chansons.
  21. "Paroles Le Chien par Léo Ferre - Paroles.net (clip, musique, traduction)". www.paroles.net.
  22. "Paroles Robert Charlebois Tendresse Et Amitié lyrics - musique en parole". www.paroles-musique.com.
  23. "Lost Mi Lover". Retrieved 1 July 2022.
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