True (cigarette)
{{Short description|American brand of cigarettes}}
{{infobox brand
| name= True
| logo= True cigarette logo.png
| image=
| caption=
| type= Cigarette
| currentowner= Reynolds American
| producedby= R.J. Reynolds
| origin= United States
| introduced= {{start date and age|1966|9}}
| discontinued=
| related= Kent, Pall Mall
| markets= United States{{cite web|url=http://www.cigarettespedia.com/index.php/BrandTrue|title=BrandTrue - Cigarettes Pedia|website=www.cigarettespedia.com}}{{cite web|url=http://www.zigsam.at/B_True.htm|title=True|website=www.zigsam.at}}{{cite web|url=http://www.cigarety.by/brand.php?n=10&l=19&p=0&w=TRUE+|title=Brands|website=www.cigarety.by}}
| previousowners= Lorillard (1966–2015)
| trademarkregistrations=
| ambassadors=
| tagline= "Shouldn't your brand be True?"
| website=
| footnotes = Carcinogenicity: IARC group 1
|logo_caption=Old logo of True cigarettes}}
True is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned by Reynolds American and manufactured through its subsidiary R.J. Reynolds. The brand was created and formerly owned by the Lorillard Tobacco Company.
History
True was introduced in September 1966 by Lorillard in 10 major U.S. markets, with national distribution beginning on November 1, 1966.http://tobacco.stanford.edu/tobacco_main/images.php?token2=fm_st107.php&token1=fm_img3290.php&theme_file=fm_mt008.php&theme_name=ReassuringBrand%20Names&subtheme_name=True {{Dead link|date=February 2022}} The tagline for the new brand was "Shouldn't your brand be True?".{{Cite news|url=http://adage.com/article/adage-encyclopedia/lorillard-tobacco/98754/|title=Lorillard Tobacco Co.|access-date=2018-03-22|language=en}} The cigarette, when first introduced, was full flavored. It was later available in a reduced tar and nicotine version during the 1970s and 1980s.
True cigarettes, like Parliament cigarettes, have a recessed filter. However, whereas Parliaments have nothing in the recessed space, Trues have a plastic piece (round with a triangle in the middle and radials which extend to the outside) which prevents the top of the cigarette from being broken, torn, or crushed.
In 2015, Reynolds American acquired the brand after they bought the Lorillard Tobacco Company.
Advertising
File:True Filters (Full Flavour).jpg
Lorillard made various poster advertisements to promote the True brand as a "low tar, low nicotine" brand.{{Cite web|url=http://tobacco.stanford.edu/tobacco_main/images.php?token2=fm_st107.php&token1=fm_img9596.php&theme_file=fm_mt008.php&theme_name=Reassuring%20Brand%20Names&subtheme_name=True|title=Stanford Research into the Impact of Tobacco Advertising|website=tobacco.stanford.edu|access-date=2018-03-22}}{{Dead link|date=January 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.magazine-advertisements.com/true-cigarettes.html|title=True Cigarettes|website=Advertisement Gallery|access-date=2018-03-22}}
A few TV ads were also made to promote the brand in the late 1960s to early 1970s.{{Citation|last=31Mike|title=Retro 1969 True Cigarette Commercial|date=2016-09-26|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXmMC8BA29s|accessdate=2018-03-22}}{{Citation|last=Bobby Cole|title=True Cigarettes -1970|date=2011-10-17|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zaKUufjc28|accessdate=2018-03-22}}
Varieties
- Filters Kings: Soft Pack, Box
- Filters 100s: Soft Pack, Box
- Menthol Kings: Soft Pack, Box
- Menthol 100s: Soft Pack, Box