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Luis Fabini and the Real Marlboro Men

It's time to wrap up the Marlboro Man theme of this week from the previous two posts by featuring the real cowboys of America. Luis Fabini's Horsemen of the Americas series documents the lives of stockmen not only in the US and Canada, but also throughout the rest of the American continent.

In this series, you will find cowboys from North America, charros from Mexico, llaneros from Colombia and Venezuela, chagras from Ecuador, chalanes and qorilazos from Peru, huasos from Chile, gauchos from Uruguay and Argentina, and pantaneiros and vaqueiros from Brazil.

Their attire may be different, but they wear the same expressions on their faces; that of quite diligence and determination that mirrors the rugged land that they work on.

Sadly, these different cultures that have helped shaped the histories of their countries are slowly disappearing, giving way to more modern livestock practices. It is thus of great benefit for future generations that Mr. Fabini took almost eight years of his life to document these different groups.

Check out more Marlboro Men over at Mr. Fabini's website. All of the Horsemen of the Americas images above were taken from the PDN Photo of the Day website.

Luis Sinco and The Other Marlboro Man

Picking up from the subject of the Marlboro Man from the previous post, today's story features the image of the other Marlboro Man, sometimes known as the Marlboro Marine.

Taken during the November 2004 battle in Fallujah, Iraq and published in over 150 newspapers in the same month, the photograph above shows Marine Lance Corporal James Blake Miller, tired and bloodied, a newly lit cigarette in his mouth, gazing away from the camera.

The striking photo was taken by photojournalist Luis Sinco who was embedded with Miller's Regiment at that time. They had just secured a house after a long night of intense fire, and Sinco caught Miller momentarily resting against the wall just as the sunrise was peeking over the horizon.

During its initial publication, Miller was showered with praise during his time in Iraq. Today however, it is a sad reminder of the extended and complicated involvement of foreign nations in Iraqi and Afghanistan, and of post traumatic stress disorder.

After being medically discharged after an outburst caused by his condition, Miller had the chance to go to Washington to share his distressing experiences with some US representatives. Amazingly, none of the congressmen were inclined to involve themselves in this cause. As Miller put it, "it was a slap in the face" to find so many elected leaders bearing a polite but apathetic view towards veterans in need of PTSD help.

Miller is now separated from his wife and family, and lives alone.

You can find out more about the Marlboro Marine by reading this Los Angeles Times article or viewing this mini-documentary hosted by Media Storm.

Leonard McCombe and The Marlboro Man

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then Leonard McCombe's image that inspired the Marlboro Man campaign is worth over $15 billion.

The photograph above shows Clarence Hailey Young, a foreman at the JA Ranch in Texas. McCombe had set out on assignment by Life magazine to document the real way of life of these cowboys, dispelling the glamorous image of most Hollywood movies at that time for the harsh and difficult work of ranching reality.

Something in that 1949 photo must have caught the eye of legendary advertising executive Leo Burnett who later used it as his template for the Marlboro Man. Young's wrinkled and unshaven face framed by a large cowboy hat and bandana around his neck looked perfect to the ad executive. The fact that he had a lit cigarette on his lips probably convinced Mr. Burnett to choose the cowboy lifestyle for his advertising campaign.

The campaign for Marlboro was meant to include other macho professions, but the cowboy image emerged to be the clear winner. The choice obviously worked for Phillip Morris as the original filtered cigarettes which were first advertised for women as "Mild as May" became the winning ingredient when one tried to picture the place "Where the Flavor is." Within two years, sales of the cigarette increased three-fold.

Darren Winfield was the first commercial Marlboro Man, with many other actors and real cowboys following in his footsteps. Similarly, many photographers, including Jim Krantz and Sam Abell were commissioned to make the iconic ads.

Ultimately, the campaign would last just until counter-campaigns from health advocates became too overwhelming. It didn't help that some of the actors used in the ads later died of lung cancer.

While most tobacco companies nowadays have shifted their advertising campaigns away from the cowboy image, the original idea has been considered to be one of the most successful ad campaigns of all time. And to think that McCombe's Marlboro Man shot sparked the idea that would be worth millions of dollars from what was originally a ladies' cigarette.

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Luis Fabini and the Real Marlboro Men

Luis Sinco and The Other Marlboro Man

Leonard McCombe and The Marlboro Man

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