Export is a Canadian brand of

cigarette 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 opp ...

s and rolling tobacco, currently owned and manufactured by JTI Macdonald, a subsidiary of

Japan Tobacco International JTI - Japan Tobacco International is the international tobacco division of Japan Tobacco, a leading international tobacco product manufacturer. The holding company is JT International SA and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and sells its b ...

History

It was introduced in 1928 by

Macdonald Tobacco The Macdonald Tobacco Company (initially called McDonald Brothers and Co.), founded in 1858 by William Christopher Macdonald and his brother Augustine, converted tobacco leaf from southern U.S. suppliers to pipe and chewing tobacco in Montreal. A ...

as Macdonald's Gold Standard, the boxes were marked "Export", and they quickly became known under that name. The most recognized products are the Export 'A' product line, but JTI also produces an unfiltered 'Export Plain' cigarette and Export

rolling tobacco Shag, also known as rolling tobacco or loose tobacco is fine-cut tobacco, used to make Roll-your-own cigarette, self-made cigarettes by hand rolling the tobacco into rolling paper or injecting it into Cigarette_filter, filter tubes. It got its name ...

. The cigarettes and rolling tobacco are from premium Virginia leaf tobacco. Beginning in the mid-1930s, Macdonald's cigarette brands were adorned by the portrait of a pretty Scottish woman dressed in traditional garb and wearing the

Macdonald of Sleat Macdonald, MacDonald or McDonald may refer to: Organisations * McDonald's, a chain of fast food restaurants * McDonald & Co., a former investment firm * MacDonald Motorsports, a NASCAR team * Macdonald Realty, a Canadian real estate brokerage ...

tartan. The model for this trademark was Betty Annan Grant, who posed for the painting by famous Canadian artist Rex Woods. The ''Scottish Lassie'', as she is known, was featured on nearly all of Macdonald's cigarette brands until the 1970s, and remains on packages of Export 'A' cigarettes to the present. During

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 ...

, a special duty-free variant of the Macdonald Gold Standard was made for the Canadian troops to boost general morale during their battles. On the slide cover was printed, "GIFT to Canadian troops on active service, not for re-sale. These cigarettes have not borne United Kingdom Customs Duty". Pedestrian crossing sign at Davenport Road and Osler Street Toronto

Pedestrian crossing sign at Davenport Road and Osler Street Toronto

Macdonald Tobacco and JTI Macdonald have made many advertising posters over the years to promote the Macdonald Gold Standard and Export cigarettes, both in French and English. Various accessories were also made, such as a snapback, a cigarette lighter, stickers, playing cards,

cufflink Cufflinks are items of jewelry that are used to secure the cuffs of dress shirts. Cufflinks can be manufactured from a variety of different materials, such as glass, stone, leather, metal, precious metal or combinations of these. Securing of ...

s, rubber coin mats, and beer mats. In the 1990s, when Export was the sponsor of various extreme sports, special advertisement billboards and posters were made to promote the Export 'A' variant. Some of the slogans used were "Go Your Own Way" (used when advertising various extreme sports in Canada in the 1990s) and "Be Different".

Sport sponsorship

Export A was the main sponsor of various extreme sports, such as the

1998 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships The 1998 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships were held in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec, Canada from 14 to 20 September 1998. The disciplines included were cross-country and downhill. The event was the 9th edition of the UCI Mountain Bike World Champ ...

(called the ''"Export A Mountain Bike World Cup"''), the Niagara Motocross event, the Extreme Motorboat event and the UCI Wildwater Kayak Race in Canada.

Markets

Export and Macdonald's are mainly sold in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, but also were or still are sold in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

Products

*Export A Plain (unfiltered/filter, dark green) *Export A Full Flavour (green, aka “green death”) *Export A Medium (dark blue) *Export A Rich (red) *Export A Smooth (gold, baby blue in Quebec) *Export A Extra Smooth (silver) *Export A Fine (light blue) *Export A Activate (blue with water capsule)

References

{{Cigarettes Canadian brands Japan Tobacco brands

History

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Sport sponsorship

Markets

Products

See also

References