What's in a Name?

A few weeks ago I was pumping gas into my car when I noticed this ad on the paper towel dispenser next to the pump.

Al Capone Premium Cigarillos with the tagline of “…No Comment” on the package. Cognac dipped, too!

Now, I’m not the target audience for this ad, but what really struck me about it was the fact that the brand is named after the infamous Prohibition-era Chicagoland gangster of yore.

It made me wonder if other countries have products named after their own infamous historical figures. Are there Genghis Kahn-branded horse saddles sold in the open-air markets of Ulaanbaatar? Do kitchen supply stores in Bucharest have skewers with a picture of Vlad The Impaler on the package? Is there a milliner in Buenos Aires selling berets embroidered with Alberto Korda’s photo of Che Guevara?

Questions to be answered for another time.

What I really wanted to know is who is Al Capone’s target market? To find out who is purchasing these tracheal treats, I paid a visit to Al Capone’s website.

The navigation bar on the left hand side of the website has a link called “The Al Capone Story,” which takes you to a page with the headline, “Kick Back. Chill.” Here is the copy below said headline:

Untouchable. There are times when you feel above the world. After a hard day’s work, it’s time for a moment. What you smoke should match your uncompromising standards for yourself, from that first draw to the slow, smooth burn.

 That’s why our cigarillos are not just premium, they’re made to be supreme. Worthy of the name, an Al Capone cigarillo is second to none. Premium tobacco is hand-rolled in a natural leaf wrapper in Honduras. Each cigarillo is crafted to be worthy of those who demand more from the moment.                 

 Make that smoking moment supreme. Make it authentic. Make it your own.

The word “premium” in this instance is not to be confused with “luxury” (for more on this distinction, click HERE). Now, I’m not a smoker, but my marketing sensibilities tell me that the brand’s garish typeface and packaging along with its tongue in cheek tagline is definitely not designed to appeal to the serious cigar aficionado. So who is buying Al Capone cigarillos?   

After looking at a few of the links on Al Capone’s such as “The Swag Room” and “Mixtape,” I quickly realized that although the brand takes its namesake from the famous mob boss of the 1920s, its target audience is definitely more “gangsta” than gangster. A sweepstakes promotion on Al Capone’s home page called “Mix of Cash – Spin Your Moment” links to a video featuring DJ Komplex, whose Twitter page banner promotes him as the “Ambassador of the Streetz.” When he’s not representing the “streetz,” Komplex can be seen on Al Capone’s website as a brand ambassador inviting loyal consumers to finish the opening verse he provides and a chance to win up to $1,500 plus Al Capone swag.

Al Capone’s target market became blazingly clear to me when I visited the brand’s Instagram. Based on the photos alone, I noticed that Al Capone’s primary consumer is – in no particular order of importance – young, mostly black, mostly male, living primarily in urban East Coast environments, and avid listeners of hip-hop. Which makes me think the ad I saw while pumping was seriously misplaced because I was nowhere near where the target market for Al Capone cigarillos lives.

Given the characteristics of its primary consumer, it’s no surprise that the brand would use Al Capone as its namesake. Hip-hop has a well-documented history of its artists and fans being influenced by the lifestyles of the American Mafia. And while this brand of premium cigarillos may be cynically cashing in on this trite trend, I can’t help but think, “Why does Al Capone resonate with so many people in the American cultural psyche?”

Al Capone has been dead for nearly 70 years, and yet his legend lives on through books, movies, television, music, sports, and yes, premium cigarillos. American history is full of outlaws from Billy the Kid to John Gotti, but none of them – not Billy the Kid, not John Dillinger, not Jimmy Hoffa, not John Gotti – come close to carrying the same amount of cultural clout as Capone.

Why?

Every culture has its archetypes. The story of Al Capone is that of the ethnic outsider from humble origins who becomes a self-made man through grit and determination. It’s a very American archetype, and it’s part of the reason why Capone has been able to transcend from mere historical figure to that of cultural icon.

Whether people want to admit it or not, Al Capone was in many ways the embodiment of the “American Dream.” Did Capone achieve his American Dream legally? No, but there’s something to be said about a man who worked his way from the bottom up to earn money, power, influence, as well as fame in both his lifetime and afterwards. 

After all, there are worse historical figures to choose for a brand name.

…No comment, indeed.