Old cigarette packs recall bygone era

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.