Pandering is profitable

It can also have lethal consequences. On July 22, 1968, Phillip Morris launched Virginia Slims, cigarettes targeted at young women. Leo Burnett ran ads with the slogan “You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby.”

The agency created what the ad industry calls an aspirational campaign, identifying the brand with the feminist movement. Light up and liberate yourself.

The ads were a phenomenal success: they hooked a lot of women and sold tons of cigarettes. How many lives the ads helped damage is anyone’s guess.

Pandering still works, of course. That’s why marketers still resort to it. They’re just not as blatant about it as they used to be.