Viceroy

Once made by Brown & Williamson, the Viceroy brand of cigarettes is now manufactured for the American people by a joint venture between the United States branch of the British American Tobacco and the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Companies. Introduced as the world’s first cork-tipped filter cigarette, the Viceroy brand was the first to add a cellulose acetate filter. This move by the company established the industry standard. With the introduction of the product line including Viceroy Filter Kings, Viceroy Box Kings and Lights Box Kings, Viceroy Ultra Light Kings, Ultra Light 100’s and finally Viceroy Menthols, the product itself has never changed, but the package design has. Always using the same blend of leaves, additives and chemicals, the Viceroy blend began a downhill trend after the joint venture and is mainly sold in Romania, the Middle East, Turkey and in Argentina. As did many brands, the Viceroy cigarette brand was no stranger to sponsoring sporting events. NASCAR was the top auto racing sporting event in the early 70’s and the Andretti helmets were based on the Viceroy design in the USAC series. Famous for their many victories, the Andretti family wasn’t the first, nor will they be the last, to incorporate cigarette package design in their daily lives.