Joe Camel vs. the Marlboro Man

Across the country, Joe Camel is apparently bursting through billboards advertising his biggest rival, the Marlboro Man.

Joe Camel peers over an image of a cowboy on horseback and holds out a pack of Camel Lights. The tag line reads: “Genuine Taste, Never Boring.”

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. thought the time was right to go after Marlboro smokers, said Peggy Carter, a spokeswoman.

At the end of the fiscal second quarter, Marlboro had 28.8% of the estimated $48-billion U.S. cigarette market. Camel had about 3.8% of the market.

“We’re saying, ‘Hey, competitive smoker, we’re talking to you,’ in that fun and irreverent vein that is Joe Camel’s style,” Carter said.