It s one of branding s eternal truisms that when you find an idea that works, you stick with it. It s why fatherly CEO Dave Thomas appeared in over 800 TV spots for Wendy s, why Aflac has stuck with the duck since 1999 and why Go Daddy has held tight to Danica Patrick s bumper for 11 Super Bowl spots now. There s a corollary to this rule, too. Once one brand discards a great idea, there s nothing stopping a similar brand from taking it up. Case in point the Marlboro Man and what looks like his kid brother in the ads here. But be it a tobacco smoke from the 50s or one of the many electronic alternatives on the market now, cigarette brands love associating themselves with the All American bruiser.

«Cigarettes were always about being a rebel,» observes Gwenaelle Gob , creative director of marketing think tank Emotional Branding and a filmmaker who recently explored gender representations on American billboards in her film This Space Available. «The imagery connects because it s an ideal,» Gob said. «Who doesn t want to be some version of the tough guy? This is what everybody demands men to be.»

This rugged but successful marriage between tough guys and cigs goes back to 1954 when Philip Morris introduced Marlboro as its first brand to feature a filter. Fearful that the foam tip would make the brand seem soft and feminine, the company hired legendary adman Leo Burnett, who understood that making Marlboro a real man s smoke meant showing real men. While most people recall the Marlboro Man as a cowboy, he was actually a variety of characters for the first few years mechanics, hunters and, like our hairy chested friend here, a coach (ex Navy at that, judging from the tattoo on his right hand). The hitch worked. By 1972, Marlboro was the best selling cigarette brand on the planet.

Of course, all the muscles in the world weren t enough to fight off the attorneys general in most every state in America. The $206 billion Master Settlement of 1999 sent the Marlboro Man riding off into the sunset. But good ideas are tough to kill as this 2013 ad for Blu e cigarettes demonstrates. «My intuition is that Blu purposely went to the Marlboro Man to give this ad the same look,» Gob said. Even if the brand didn t do that literally, the similarities are striking. Chances are you wouldn t pick a fight with either of these dudes.

It s anyone s guess if the tough guy image will work as well for Blu as it did for Marlboro. Blu is a battery driven vapor generator that comes in flavors including Cherry Crush and Vivid Vanilla facts that are a little tough to reconcile with the Brando esque aura of our denim clad stag here. Still, there s no denying the logic of the presentation. «If you walked up to anyone who s lived long enough, they can immediately conjure the Marlboro Man s image and describe it to you,» Gob said. «That icon is endless.»

Gudang garam — wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Early Years edit

In his twenties, Wonowidjojo got his big break when his uncle offered him a job working with tobacco and sauce at his kretek factory Cap 93. Cap 93 was one of the most famous kretek brands in East Java. Hard work and diligence was soon rewarded by promotion to Head of Tobacco and Sauce and eventually led to him becoming a company director.

Wonowidjojo left Cap 93 in 1956 taking fifty employees with him. He immediately started buying land and raw materials in Kediri and soon after began producing his own klobot kretek which he marketed under the brand name Inghwie. Two years later he renamed and registered his company as Pabrik Rokok Tjap Gudang Garam and a legend was born.

The story behind the name «Gudang Garam» deserves a special mention. One night, Wonowidjojo had a dream in which the old salt warehouse which stood across the way from Cap 93 featured prominently. Subsequently, Sarman, one of the original fifty employees who had followed him when he left Cap 93, advised him to put a picture of the warehouse on every packet of his kretek to secure good fortune. Wonowidjojo thought this was a good idea and asked Sarman to design the logo.

Gudang Garam grew rapidly and by the end of 1958 it had 500 employees producing over 50,000,000 kretek annually. By 1966, after only eight years in production, Gudang Garam had grown to be the largest kretek factory in Indonesia with an annual production of 472 million sticks. Consumers have noted Gudang Garam’s, particularly the Inghwies, similar smell to alcoholic beverages.

By 1969, Gudang Garam was producing 864 million sticks a year and was indisputably the largest kretek producer in Indonesia and Taiwan.

In 1979, Wonowidjojo completely renovated Gudang Garam’s production system, ordered thirty rolling machines and developed a new formula for his machine made kretek.

Other business enterprises competing with this brand tried to discredit the brand by attributing use of cannabis/Marijuana content in addition to cloves and tobacco. It has the distinction of being the largest single employer in Indonesia and Taiwan.

Products edit Local edit

• Gudang Garam
  • Gudang Garam International
  • Gudang Garam Signature
• Surya Brand
  • Surya 12
  • Surya 16
  • Surya 12 Premium
  • Surya 16 Exclusive
  • Surya Pro
  • Surya Pro Mild
  • Surya Signature
  • Surya Slims
  • Surya Exclusive
• Gudang Garam Merah
• Djaja
  • Sriwedari Lurik
  • Sriwedari Biru Lurik
  • Nusa
  • Gudang Garam Klobot
• GG Mild
  • Nusantara green( menthol) and red nusantara (regular)
  • Avinash Belagere T

Other interests edit

Gudang Garam owns one of the top five badminton clubs of Indonesia. Suryanaga Gudang Garam is based in the capital city of East Java, Surabaya.

Product slogans edit