Benson & Hedges

Benson & Hedges

UK Benson & Hedges Silver box, with warning
Introduced	1873
Produced by	Gallaher Group

Benson & Hedges is a British brand of cigarettes owned by the Gallaher Group, which became a subsidiary of Japan Tobacco in 2007. They are registered in Old Bond Street in London, and are manufactured in Lisnafillen, Ballymena, Northern Ireland for the UK and Irish markets.

History

Benson & Hedges was founded in 1873 by Richard Benson and William Hedges as Benson and Hedges Ltd. Alfred Paget Hedges succeeded his father in the business in 1885, the same year which Richard Benson left the business. The 1900s saw branches of Benson & Hedges Ltd. opening in the United States and Canada. In 1928, the American branch became independent, and was bought by Philip Morris in 1958 who also purchased the Canadian branch in 1960. Benson & Hedges Ltd in the UK was acquired by Gallagher Limited in 1955.

A Royal Warrant was issued to the British company in 1878, after the required five years of supply to the Royal Family. This was revoked in 1999 due to a "lack of demand in the royal households". The Warrant seal, which had previously been on the flip lid of the box, was removed.

In June 1977 Benson & Hedges' Gallagher was represented, along with executives from six other major international tobacco companies, at a clandestine meeting styled 'Operation Berkshire' at Shockerwick House outside Bath, England, where they agreed on a deliberate strategy to mislead the public over the harmful effects of smoking and retard tobacco control efforts of governments and health groups.^{[citation needed]}

In the UK market in the late 1970s, Benson & Hedges ran an advertising campaign which played on the limits of what could be said and shown in cigarette advertisements. A striking series of photomontages and cinema films, devised by Collett Dickenson Pearce, featured the gold pack in various surreal juxtapositions and transformations, devoid of words and people. John Emperor, who was employed by CDP, was the creator of the packet logo.

Markets

The cigarettes are available in Gold or Silver forms, and in some countries also as Green (Menthol), blue, white and black. JTI also manufactures Hamlet cigars.

UK market

In 2007, Benson and Hedges changed the packaging from Benson and Hedges special filter to Benson and Hedges Gold, with a slightly different formula and also launched a Silver version, containing less tar and 0.1 less mg of nicotine at a slightly cheaper price. In 2008, Benson and Hedges launched a 14 cigarette pack to be sold along side its 10 and 20 packs. It also launched a Black version of its cigarettes, but these disappeared in the early 2009. In July 2009, B&H launched a Gold and Silver version of rolling tobacco. It also launched a slide pack for its Silver branded cigarettes.

In June 2010, Benson and Hedges launched the Edge pack, a new style of packaging with edged/curved corners, for its Gold 20 cigarette packs.

Currently, the UK brands are Benson and Hedges Gold, Silver and Benson & Hedges Gold Superkings, as well as its rolling tobacco. Benson & Hedges brands in the UK over the last 40 years have included: Sovereign (two versions), Gold Bond, Virginia Red, and Virginia Blue.

As of June 2011, a new brand has been released into the UK market - Benson and Hedges White.

Overseas markets

In the 1930s, Benson & Hedges (Overseas) Ltd was established by Abraham Wix to handle overseas trade. This branch was acquired by British American Tobacco in 1956. Today, British American Tobacco markets Benson & Hedges throughout Asia and the Pacific, including Australia and New Zealand, but with the exception of Taiwan and the Philippines. The Canadian branch of Benson and Hedges is owned by Philip Morris International.

In Australia, the company's cigarettes are available in the following variations: Classic, Rich, Smooth, Subtle, Fine and Ultimate, with a small square of colour around the brand name being red, purple, blue, sky blue, grey and white respectively, the rest of the packaging predominantly gold.

In Canada, a popular brand is "Belmonts", manufactured by B&H in Toronto.

The United States version of the cigarette, acquired by Philip Morris in 1954, is credited with starting the 1960s 100 mm craze. In 1967, the fledgling and soon to be famous advertising agency of Wells, Rich, Greene introduced the longer cigarette with a Clio award winning advertising campaign (Benson & Hedges 100, Television/Cinema, Best, 1967) based on the "disadvantages" of the Benson & Hedges 100s.

In the United States, several varieties of Benson & Hedges are available, including:

• Benson & Hedges Kings - Box
• Benson & Hedges Menthol - Kings & 100s
• Benson & Hedges Multifilter Kings - Soft
• Benson & Hedges 100s - Soft, Box
• Benson & Hedges 100s Menthol - Soft, Box
• Benson & Hedges 100s DeLuxe - Box
• Benson & Hedges 100s DeLuxe Menthol - Box
• Benson & Hedges 100s Luxury - Soft, Box
• Benson & Hedges 100s Luxury Menthol - Soft, Box

Sponsorships

Australia

Throughout the 1980s Benson & Hedges was the major sponsor of international cricket in Australia, holding the naming rights for most of the One Day International tournaments such as the World Series Cup and the World Championship of Cricket. Benson & Hedges also sponsored Tony Longhurst's team in the 1980s and early 1990s in Australian Touring Car racing. All sponsorship rights were relinquished when the Australian Federal government legislation banned tobacco advertising at sporting events.

Canada

Benson & Hedges sponsored fireworks competitions in Montreal, Quebec, Toronto, Ontario and Vancouver, British Columbia, until tobacco advertising laws passed by the Government of Canada came into force in 2000.

Global

From 1996 to 2005, Benson & Hedges was the primary sponsor of Jordan Grand Prix team. When racing in countries with bans on tobacco advertising, the livery and apparel were substituted with "Bitten Hisses" (during the period when Jordan's mascot was Hissing Sid), "Buzzing Hornets" (while the mascot was an unnamed hornet), "Bitten Heroes" (while the mascot was an unnamed shark), or "Be On Edge" (BENSON & HEDGES; when read aloud (and on air (?)) the phrase sounds similar to "B and H", a common abbreviation for the brand in the UK and elsewhere).

In popular culture

Oasis members Noel and Liam Gallagher smoked Benson and Hedges during the 1990s, with Noel naming his two cats "Benson" and "Hedges". Oasis released a collection of their singles up until their second album (What's the Story) Morning Glory?. The singles were sold in a special box shaped and coloured like Benson & Hedges cigarette packets.

British indie band Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine referenced the brand in the song "England", from their 1992 album 1992 – The Love Album, with the lyrics: "I've been GBH'd and ABH'd for a packet of B&H."

In the film Mike Bassett: England Manager, Bassett (played by Ricky Tomlinson) writes down his squad for a match against Belgium on a packet of Benson and Hedges; his PA unwittingly includes two players with the surnames Benson and Hedges to the squad.

A pair of twins in New Zealand were named "Benson" and "Hedges" after the brand and were cited by a New Zealand judge amongst a list of inappropriate children's names, alongside names like "Fish and Chips", and "Black child" or "nigger".

"Benson Hedges" is the name of the second track on the album Aim and Ignite from the New York power pop band Fun.

Benson Hedges is the name of the wedding planner played by Peter Dinklage in the Michael Showalter film The Baxter.

References

• British American Tobacco's FAQ on the history of Benson & Hedges

External links

• British American Tobacco
• B&H official site