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| A DEPRESSION-ERA WINNER: ZIPPO |
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Page 1 of 2  Highlights of a hot new Spring issue of Smoke magazine!Los Angeles, May 26 – Zippo is almost synonymous with the lighter. But how did it get that way? Writer Richard Lucas explores the mystery in one of the engaging features in the newest issue of Smoke magazine, on sale now. The entire story of this successful lighter company is almost too amazing to be true. George Blaisdell founded the company in the 1930s as the Depression had gripped America. But cigarette smoking had become popular since packs were included in soldier’s rations in World War I and lighters were everywhere. Blaisdell offered a lifetime guarantee on his lighters – “it works or we fix it for free” – that still holds true today and coupled with his promotional genius, Zippo’s sales soared. Lucas noted that “One interesting early marketing device for Zippo was the use of the punchboard. For five cents, store patrons could punch a paper slip out of one of the holes in the board and, with a little luck, win a Zippo, which sold for $1.95 at the time. These came off the counter-tops of bars and stores in 1940 when the device was ruled illegal as a ‘game of chance.’” Then Zippo’s other great marketing break came when World War II broke out and the military ordered so many lighters that consumer production was ended. Wartime ads for the company told the public at home, “We’ve been drafted by Uncle Sam. So be kind to your Zippo. You won’t be able to get another for the duration.” By war’s end, millions of lighters had been distributed or purchased by the troops and the massive distribution throughout the service ranks ensured its future popularity. Lucas points out that every U.S. Navy ship “has its own custom-designed Zippo.” Cigar smokers know that the company debuted the ZippoBLU lighter, perfect for cigar lovers, last year. Like its liquid-fueled counterparts, it’s also protected by the lifetime guarantee and that’s a comfort. Among the thousands of stories about Zippo reliability: a lighter was once removed from the stomach of a fish and still worked, as did another which resided – for a time – in the stomach of a bear! That’s enough to get anyone fired up about Zippo. But, there were many other highlights in the entertaining new Spring issue: >> At 9.3, three cigars received the top score: Cupido Criollo Corto (4 1/2 x 56, Nicaragua), Liga Privada No. 9 (6 x 52, Nicaragua) and the Rocky Patel Sun Grown Sixty (6 x 60, Honduras). The Cupido is a new version of the old (and outstanding) Cigar Boom brand, created by Cuban Crafters in Nicaragua and the Liga Privada No. 9 is a line from Drew Estates that was developed by the company’s president, Steve Saka, to satisfy his own ideas on flavor and complexity. Both are intriguing and not always easy to find. On the other hand, the Rocky Patel Sun Grown is both well known and widely available. |
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Did you know?
“Cigars were introduced to the American Colonies by British Col. Israel Putnam on his return from Cuba in 1762.
