Gunston (cigarette)

Gunston is a South African brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by BAT South Africa, a subsidiary of British American Tobacco.[4]

Gunston
An old South African pack of Gunston cigarettes, with a South African text warning at the top of the pack
Product typeCigarette
OwnerBAT South Africa, a subsidiary of British American Tobacco
Produced byBAT South Africa, a subsidiary of British American Tobacco
CountrySouth Africa
Introduced1950s
MarketsSwitzerland, South Africa, Namibia[1][2][3]
Previous owners"Winston Tobacco Company"
Registered as a trademark in19 June 1973, expired 19 June 2004
Tagline"Men Rate Gunston Great"

History

Gunston was founded in the 1950s by the "Winston Tobacco Company" in South Africa.[2] It was one of the most popular South African brands on the market, until sales started to decline in favour to other brands such as Peter Stuyvesant and Marlboro.

On the 28th of April 1972, a trademark request for the words "Gunston cigarettes" was filed and it was approved on the 19th of June 1973. The trademark expired on 19 June 2004.[5]

In December 1999, the Independent Online reported that Gunston, but also brands like John Player International Filter, Camel Plain and Gitanes could be outlawed if the manufacturer would not lower the tar content in the afromentioned brands. The manufacturers had three months to comply with the regulation changes, and eventually complied. The limits on the amount of tar in cigarettes were said to be in line with the World Health Organization recommendations of 1999, which stipulate that 15 mg of tar and 1,5 mg of nicotine should be the maximum. After two or three years these limits were to be reduced to 12 mg of tar and 1,2 mg of nicotine.[6]

Advertising

Various magazine and poster advertisements were made to advertise the brand. Some ads also included Team Gunston (a Formula One team owned by Rhodesian racing driver John Love) and the "Gunston 500", a South African surf competition.[7][8] The slogan that was frequently used was "Men Rate Gunston Great".[9]

Some radio advertisements for Springbok Radio were also made.[10][11]

Sponsorship

Formula 1

Gunston sponsored Team Gunston from 1968 until 1975. They were known as the first team who introduced tobacco sponsorship to motor racing when they sponsored Rhodesian drivers John Love and Sam Tingle in the 1968 South African Championship for Formula 1 and Formula 5000 machinery.[12] Prior to the F1 sponsorship, the team participated in the non-championship race Rhodesian Grand Prix held at the James McNeillie Circuit in Bulawayo.[13]

South African F2

Gunston sponsored Team Gunston in the South African F2.[14][15]

Kyalami 9 Hours

Gunston sponsored Team Gunston in the Kyalami 9 Hours (also known as the 1000 km of Kyalami.[16][17]

Surfing

Gunston sponsored the "Gunston 500" surfing championship. Originally it was called the "Durban 500", but once Gunston became their main sponsor, the name was changed.[18] The sponsorship ended when tobacco sponsorship in South Africa was banned in 1999.[19]

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See also

References
  1. "BrandGunston - Cigarettes Pedia". www.cigarettespedia.com.
  2. "Gunston". www.zigsam.at.
  3. "Brands". www.cigarety.by.
  4. "British American Tobacco South Africa - Our brands". www.batsa.co.za.
  5. "Apply for a Trademark. Search a Trademark". trademarkia.com.
  6. "Top cigarette brands face tar ban - IOL News".
  7. "Team Gunston Racing / Winfield Racing". Pinterest.
  8. "When Ciggies Were (Supposedly) Great for Surfing. | Zigzag Magazine". Zigzag.co.za. 2014-12-04. Retrieved 2018-05-05.
  9. lisahunter (27 April 2018). "Surfing, Sex, Genders and Sexualities". Routledge – via Google Books.
  10. SRPS AUDIO ARCHIVE JOHANNESBURG (19 April 2017). "GUNSTON CIGARETTES" – via YouTube.
  11. clifford Newton (2 November 2014). "Gunston cigarette" – via YouTube.
  12. "F1 Tobacco Advertising in "the good old days" - Page 1 - General Motorsport - PistonHeads". www.pistonheads.com.
  13. "'SA was ahead of the curve' - 50 years of sponsorship in F1".
  14. "John Moni , Team Gunston March 842 Mazda , South African F2 / Formula Atlantic , Killarney , Cape Town 1985 - SA00055".
  15. "Ian Scheckter - Team Gunston March 832 - South African F2 / Atlantic / Sigma Series - Killarney , Cape Town 1984".
  16. others, The Zen Cart™ Team and. "Fly 051301 BMW M1 Team Gunston, limited edition of 380 worldwide [051301] - $99.99 : Electric Dreams, New and Vintage Slot Cars". www.electricdreams.com.
  17. "Slot Car Dreamer!!!". Pinterest.
  18. "Gunston 500". Encyclopedia of Surfing by Matt Warshaw.
  19. "The Epic Evolution of Gunston 500 to The Ballito Pro". ShowMe™ - Ballito.
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