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 non-cigarette 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.