The cigarette for me
Picturegoer | 1952 | Science Museum
“The cigarette for me” says “football genius” Stanley Matthews in this 1952 advert from Picturegoer magazine. The use of sporting figures, as well as glamorous stars from the stage and screen, in cigarette advertising had become commonplace by this time. However, after the link between smoking and poor health was definitively made in the 1950s – and popularly accepted in the following years – such advertising swiftly declined ... Vegetarian and teetotal, Matthews was criticised for advertising cigarettes, but he was still playing at the highest level aged 50".
