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.
Team Penske
Cigarette brand Marlboro had been a sponsor with Team Penske since the 1989 Indianapolis 500, and primary sponsor of all Team Penske IndyCars since 1991. Late in 2005, Team Penske announced that Marlboro would not appear on the cars any longer in accordance with the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement restricting cigarette advertising by name. In 2007, the IndyCar Series cars began to carry "Team Penske" insignia and sponsorship from Mobil 1 (although the cars remained painted in the Marlboro color scheme—in Formula 1 the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro has a similar set up). For 2009, Verizon Wireless, joined Exxon Mobil as associate sponsors, and the team was billed as Verizon Championship Racing. The third car was driven by Will Power, originally a substitute for Castroneves, carried the No. 12 and featured primary sponsorship of both Verizon Wireless brand and Roger Penske's truck rental business.