The Smoke Clears At Marlboro
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Ralph Lauren, watch out. Philip Morris Cos. is staking a claim for Marlboro in the urban-cowboy fashion landscape. Sometime this spring, Philip Morris USA, the company's $12 billion tobacco division, will roll out the Marlboro Country Store, a mail-order promotion that will enable smokers to exchange their empty Marlboro packs for Western wear such as boots, cowboy hats, belt buckles, denim shirts, and leather jackets, discreetly stenciled with the Marlboro brand logo.
Some deal, right? But it's even better for Philip Morris. The campaign is expected to build the company's data base of smokers and turn millions of Americans into walking Marlboro ads.