Marlboro Man
The use of the Marlboro Man campaign had very significant and immediate effects on sales. In 1955, when the Marlboro Man campaign was started, sales were at $5 billion. By 1957, sales were at $20 billion, representing a 300% increase within two years. Philip Morris easily overcame growing health concerns through the Marlboro Man campaign, highlighting the success as well as the tobacco industry’s strong ability to use mass marketing to influence the public.
Robert von Hagge
After working for a time as a commercial artist, Robert entered Purdue University Agriculture School, while serving in the Navy's V-12 O.C.S. program. He subsidized his education cost by freelancing as a commercial artist to outdoor magazines, and appeared in television commercials as the Marlboro Man. In 1955, Dick Wilson, one of America’s foremost golf course architects, employed Robert as an apprentice golf course designer. By 1962, Robert had been involved in all or part of the design of 40 golf courses in the U.S. and the Caribbean and four foreign countries. In 1963 he resigned his affiliation with the Dick Wilson Company in order to start his own firm, changing his surname to "Von Hagge".