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General and MRG&L also are developing Partagas' image, which had been running on the strength of its Cuban heritage with "The Cigar That Knew Cuba When" That campaign told the story of Ramon Cifuentes, whose family has been making Partagas since 1845, using retro ads to follow the cigar master's night-dubbing and beachcombing days in 1950s Cuba. Last year's"Richest Cigar in the World"initiative followed Cifuentes from exile by Castro to cheap tiffany cufflinks in search of the best tobacco wrapper. The last installment zeroed in on the Partagas smoker, the person who demands the richest taste.

"We wanted to keep the heart of the campaign, the Cuban cigar heritage which the novice is aware of, so why change it," said McCaffery. "The Partagas campaign inspired a lot of [competitors] to start talking about their tobacco originating from Cuban seed.We had ownership of the Cuban position, so we segued from the Cuban story into Cuban enhanced by Cameroon. So now we own Connecticut shade [for Macanudo] and the Cameroon wrapper."

Other efforts to burn an image into consumers' psyche is last year's rollout of Bolivar, named for South American liberator Simon Bolivar. The ads tried to catch a little instant, history with a 19th century lithograph look of an individualistic-looking man cheap tiffany earrings is not likely to chase fashion and cigar fads or latch onto status. Cohiba rode on the aura of Cuban mysticism, touching men and women with branded wine, lipstick, nail enamel, and a Cohiba dance and song. Then there is mischievous positioning of Punch, from General's Villazon & Co. division,with Punchmen George Plimpton,Wayne Knight and Dennis Hopper-celebrities who are slightly off the mainstream, exude irreverence and don't go along with the crowd. An upcoming Hoyo de Monterrey campaign may play on the current class of smokers' tendency to try different brands.

Tabacalera's BoYoung sees himself as a purveyor of a cigar dating service and sort of missionary bringing knowledge to people who want to be in the know about their hobby So rather than telling people the attributes of a cigar as assigned by the manufacturer, his strategy is to make consumers more comfortable with their buying decision by validating what they already perceive about the product. For example, machine-- rolled cigars typically contain cheap tiffany key rings and wood fillers, so all the tobacco ingredients in Vega Fina Natural indexed very high in consumer research. Consequently the"Premium Quality, NonPremium Price" campaign mentions 100% pure tobacco. Romeo y Julieta, a famous brand that originated in Cuba, was noted by smoke pubs as one of the most sought-after brands that smokers could not find. Company research showed that the brand's Cuban heritage did not figure prominently in its brand equity So last fall,Tabacalera touted a Dominican-made version and an extension, Romeo y Julieta Vintage-touted in Perelman's Pocket Cyclopedia of Cigars as the "ultimate cigar"-with the "Classic is Back" effort, via West Wayne,Tampa, Fla. Print executions featured a carrier pigeon, boomerang and a Golden cheap tiffany bangles with a ball in its mouth, all sporting the R y J cigar band.

"The advertising didn't win new customers; customers win new customers,"said Young. "The ads simply let people know that the product is available"Besides slapping those images at smoke shop POP displays, they appeared on golf carts at courses and tee dividers at driving ranges. Specialty Cigars International, a Bend, Ore., distributor, was recruited as its surrogate sales force, calling on and stocking clients at more than 2,000 golf courses nationwide.

Tabacalera is in the nascent stages of differentiating its cheap tiffany money clips, having acquired Tampa, Fla.-based Havatampa in 1997 and picking up Romeo y Julieta,Saint Luis Rey and Quintero with the purchase of Hollco-Rohr last year.The Spanish company also is merging with France's Seita, which bought Consolidated Cigar Holding in 1999. Pending approval from U.S. and European Union authorities, the new company Altadis, would be the world's fourthlargest tobacco group.