January 1, 1971: The Last Cigarette Ads Appear on TV ABC News

Same day report on the end of an era includes a montage of cigarette TV ads from the previous 25 years. Viewers of the bowl games got their last glance at Marlboro Country earlier that day and later in the evening when, at 11:50 pm on Jan. 1, 1971, the last television ad for cigarettes Virginia Slims: You ve come a long way, baby ran on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. (Sorry Shatner Method viewers, the Ronald Reagan Chesterfields thumbnail was just an attention grabber in the news clip you ll have to settle for Lee Marvin instead. ) At the end, two noncigarette ads from the same broadcast invite you to settle down with The Partridge Family and to take a walk with Dyan Cannon the American Heart Association.