Raffles (cigarette)

Raffles

An old British pack of Raffles cigarettes
Product type	Cigarette
Owner	Philip Morris USA in the U.S., Philip Morris International outside of the U.S.
Produced by	Philip Morris USA in the U.S., Philip Morris International outside of the U.S.
Country	United Kingdom
Discontinued	May 2011
Markets	United States, United Kingdom[1][2][3][4]
Previous owners	Imperial Tobacco
Tagline	"One Step Ahead"

Raffles (also known as Players in the United States) was a British brand of cigarettes which was owned and manufactured by Philip Morris USA in the U.S. and by Philip Morris International outside of the U.S.^[5][6]

History[]

In August 2001, Imperial Tobacco announced that it had entered into an agreement with Philip Morris International for the distribution and sale of Marlboro, Raffles and Chesterfield cigarettes in the U.K.^[7]

In May 2011, the name of the brand was changed from Raffles to Virginia S by Raffles. At the time, a pack of 20 cigarettes costed £6.76. Xavier Ducarroz, Marketing Director at Philip Morris said the following about the name change: "Raffles continues to be a successful range, but we were conscious that the brand needed to be refreshed. Virginia S. offers the same classic taste that adult smokers of Raffles have grown to love with a much more modern, contemporary look and feel".^[8][9]

Advertising[]

Various poster and magazine adverts were made to promote the brand in the 1980s and 1990s.^{[10][11][12][13][14][15][16]}

A lighter and toiletries with the Raffles logo were also made.^[17][18]

Philip Morris International would introduce various special offers during the 1980s and 1990s via many leaflets. If you bought a pack or a carton of Raffles cigarettes, you would get a free Tumbler glass, a T-shirt, a cafetière, a Wallet and so on.^{[19][20][21][22][23]} Other special offers included a 75 pence off if you handed over a voucher at a Kwik Save store in the United Kingdom, a free pack offer when the Raffles 10-pack variant was introduced, a third free pack if you bought 2 packs of Raffles cigarettes and so on.^{[24][25][26][27][28][29][30]}

See also[]

• Cigarette
• Tobacco smoking

References[]