Old cigarette packs recall bygone era

Text and photos by Blontank Poer

SEMARANG (JP): Cigarettes have been both loved and hated for a long time now. Active smokers will still purchase them regardless of the deadly consequences of cancer, heart failure or other diseases.

Meanwhile, non-smokers are trying to lobby local authorities to ban smoking in public places including malls, theaters and on public transportation, which is still a huge task.

Few would be aware that cigarette labels from the old days could make a very attractive display. An exhibition held between July 23 to Aug. 1 at Galeri Semarang on Jl. Dr. Cipto, Semarang, featured 60 designs of cigarette labels produced between 1930 and 1960.

The labels were characterized by their pure simplicity: simple choice of colors, usually using three basic colors, and also simple in their typography and layout.

The choice of brands then was far from today's and was mostly based on calculated branding strategies to create brand awareness in consumers' minds.

For example Katjang Persatoean (United Beans, produced in Kudus in the 1950s), depicts a bunch of beans over a rice cake with green and red as the background color combination, while Bengawan Solo (produced in Semarang in the 1960s) had a sketch of the Bengawan Solo river with mountains in the background.

One thing that is interesting to note is that the use of images close to the common people also contribute to historical documentation of that period.

Brands like Meluku (plowing) and Mikoel Padi (carrying rice), for instance, detail the relationship between the buffalo, the plow and the farmer in the era before the arrival of tractors and trucks, which altered previous roles.

Other brands that presented images close to the villagers' lives then were: Merijem (Cannon), which served as a reminder of the weapon used during the days of colonization, and Prijaji (Aristocrat), which referred to the Javanese feudalistic tradition. However, several brands referenced symbols of modern society, such as Mobil (Car) and Picnic, which pictured an airplane.

What is clear is that the images used on the labels during that period were selected from the cultural treasures of common people. It was probably due to the market at the time being limited to each administrative province, with the brands seldom reaching consumers outside their hometowns, let alone other islands.

Not surprisingly, almost each town had its own cigarette manufacturing factory, such as in: Kudus, Semarang, Magelang, Temanggung, Solo, Madiun, Surabaya, Malang, Kediri and many others.

Of course the choice of simple images and designs couldn't be compared with the post-1970s products, when modern machinery and computerized graphics came into use.

While the previous labels were designed using pens and Chinese ink or screen-printing, the packaging of modern times is created with high-tech machinery.

Today's packaging uses better material and modern designs are produced with computer-controlled offset printing technology. One aspect still remains unchanged though: the anonymity of the designer.

A brand and design are carefully calculated so that the product is a success in the market nowadays. Marketing consultants only believe that conspicuous designs are able to make it. To create market awareness, cigarette producers then need to implement a variety of advertising strategies.

The former days of design simplicity is a reflection of pragmatism in business. The conviction of the business people of that period in the use of the lower class symbols created empathy, a sense of belonging and finally the success in sales.