During World War II, the story went around that Lucky Strike Cigarettes had changed their package color from green to white because the copper-based green pigmentation they used to make that famous green pack was urgently needed for painting tanks and ships to help the USA win the war.
That story was started by the American Tobacco Company bending over backwards to color itself in red-white-and-blue patriotic glory. And everyone said, How wonderful that these selfless cigarette sellers are voluntarily changing the colors of their smokes so that our nation can launch more ships and tanks.
Great story, except for it not being true at all.
Women started puffing on tailor-mades - packaged cigarettes - in the 20s, but they shied away from buying Luckies because the green and red pack clashed with their clothing. American Tobacco even tried changing the fashions to make their cancer sticks acceptable, putting on a “Green Ball” at New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel, where the influencers of the day (!) paraded around in green dresses.
That didn't work. Green was not cool, although the cigarette vendors longed to make piles of the long green of dollar bills.
World War II came along as American fretted. They saw a great opportunity to wrap themselves in glory and any old color except that pea-soup green, changed to white packs, and told the world "Lucky Strike has gone to war!"
Imagine, a tobacco company lying to the public.
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