Caballero is a Dutch brand of unfiltered

cigarettes A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the oppo ...

owned and manufactured by

British American Tobacco British American Tobacco plc (BAT) is a British multinational company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, tobacco and other nicotine products. The company, established in 1902, is headquartered in London, England. As of 2019, it is the large ...

. ''Caballero'' is the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

word for

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

History

Caballero was founded shortly after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1945, the Dutch advertising agency Prad (synonym for ''"progressive"'' and ''"advertising"'') was formed, and created the famous slogan ''"Caballero, anders dan andere."'' (''"Caballero, different than the others."'' in English) in which popular Dutchmen, mainly from the artistic parts of society, promoted the product (

Ramses Shaffy Ramses Shaffy (29 August 1933 – 1 December 2009) was a Dutch-French singer and actor who became popular during the 1960s. His most famous songs include "Zing, vecht, huil, bid, lach, werk en bewonder", "We zullen doorgaan", "Pastorale", "Samm ...

, the young

Jeroen Krabbé Jeroen Aart Krabbé (; born 5 December 1944) is a Dutch actor and film director with a successful career in both Dutch and English-language films. He is best known to international audiences for his leading roles in the Paul Verhoeven films ''So ...

and

Henk van Ulsen Henk van Ulsen (8 May 1927, Kampen – 28 August 2009, Bussum) was a Dutch actor. He won the Louis d'Or The Louis d'or () is any number of French coins first introduced by Louis XIII in 1640. The name derives from the depiction of the po ...

, who later claimed he never smoked, were a few examples). A song was also created by the Dutch amusement band Leedy Trio, called ''"Ay-ay-ay! -die Caballero"''. The cigarettes had a market share of 4% in the 1950s due to the lack of popularity in comparison to the more popular brands Roxy and Lexington at the time, the simple look of the pack (which was associated with people who were "second-class citizens") and because the cigarettes (which were then sold in packs of 20, instead of the current packs of 25) cost 0.80 cents (about €0.36 today) compared to other brands, which cost 1

Dutch guilder The guilder ( nl, gulden, ) or florin was the currency of the Netherlands from the 15th century until 2002, when it was replaced by the euro. The Dutch name ''gulden'' was a Middle Dutch adjective meaning "golden", and reflects the fact that, wh ...

. Instead of increasing the price to 1 guilder for 20 cigarettes, there was opted to put 25 cigarettes in one pack, effectively offering more cigarettes for 1 guilder. The move turned out to be a success, increasing Caballero's market share from 4 to 36% in just a few years, also thanks to the effective advertising campaigns with the famous ''"Mexicaantje"'' (''"Mexican"'' in English). The cigarettes were produced in the Caballero factory (part of the factories of Ed Laurens) in

Nieuw Binckhorst Nieuw Binckhorst is a former industrial area in southeast The Hague, Netherlands, originally called Binckhorst, for which a plan was adopted in 2009 to transform into a mixed-use development along the lines of New Urbanism, including residential, ...

. Production moved to

Zevenaar Zevenaar () is a municipality and a city in the Gelderland province, in the eastern Netherlands near the border with Germany. Population centres *Angerlo *Babberich *Giesbeek *Lathum *Ooy *Oud-Zevenaar *Zevenaar History The earliest signs of h ...

after BAT acquired the factory in 1995. The main market is the

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. Other markets are or were

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. Caballero cigarette have largely fallen out of fashion, but are still available in the plain variety.

Sport sponsorship

Caballero sponsored the cycling team of Jan van der Horst from 1962 until 1972 and participated in the

1970 Tour de France The 1970 Tour de France was the 57th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between 27 June and 19 July, with 23 stages covering a distance of . It was the second victory for Belgian Eddy Merckx, who also won t ...

under the ''"Caballero-Laurens"'' name.

References

{{British American Tobacco 1940s establishments in the Netherlands British American Tobacco brands

History

Sport sponsorship

See also

References