Booming a Cigar

1895

"Do you know how to boom a cigar?" asked the advertising man.

The other man confessed his ignorance.

"Well, I've taken hold of a new cigar with instructions to make it a 'go,' no matter what it costs. Here are a few of the schemes: Of course I use the newspapers first and last, but I've got some other ideas. I've ordered some wooden cigars 6 feet long, which are to be carried through the streets. It takes two men to carry one cigar. Then I've sent out about 25,000 postal cards to men who smoke good cigars, and on each card it says, 'Present me at the nearest cigar store and get a —— cigar for 8 cents!' See? That postal card is good for 2 cents when applied on the purchase of one of our cigars. There won't be many of them presented, but it will be a good 'ad.,' and every man who gets one will be attracted by the novelty of the scheme. Then I'm going to put music boxes in the cigar stores and have the music come out of little organ pipes made in the shape of our cigar and labeled. Every dealer in the city gets a blue print cartoon each morning to hang in his window. Mention of the cigar is the biggest part of the cartoon. I'll send private boxes of the cigars to club stewards and well known dealers. When I've done all that, I'll try something else." — Chicago Record.