The brand was introduced in 1954, and became the best-selling brand of cigarettes in the United States. It held the Number 1 spot from 1966 to 1972, thanks to the successful marketing slogan "Winston tastes good like a cigarette should."[2]
In the last national survey in 2005, Winston ranked sixth in market value, tied with Kool.[3] Winston is also known for its more recent claim of being "additive free" although a secondary warning label on their advertisements states that "no additives in our tobacco does not mean a safer cigarette" which comes out of an FTC settlement involving both Winston and Santa Fe Natural Tobacco.
R.J. Reynolds sponsored the first two seasons (1960-1961) of the popular TV cartoon The Flintstones. The main characters Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble were seen smoking Winston cigarettes during commercial breaks. For its third season, The Flintstones became more oriented towards children and as a result R. J. Reynolds was replaced by Welch's fruit juices as the main sponsor.
During the 1980s, Winston cigarettes became the most popular brand in Puerto Rico, probably because of their marketing "Winston y Puerto Rico: No hay nada mejor" ("Winston and Puerto Rico: There is nothing better"), as well as their cultural association with the "salsa sensual" or "salsa erotica" movement.[4]
From 1971-2001, Winston was the series sponsor to NHRA Drag Racing and now is preceded by Full Throttle after 7 years with Powerade.
From 1972-2003, Winston served as the title sponsor of the premier-level of NASCAR, the Winston Cup Series until removing itself from the sport because of the Master Settlement Agreement (now known as the Sprint Cup Series).
Since changing to the new pack style in late 2008, Winston has removed "additive free" from the text on the pack. In 2010, brand descriptors for Winston Lights and Ultra Lights were changed to color-coded descriptors in order to comply with FDA regulation of tobacco products.
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