George Washington Hill (October 22, 1884,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

– September 13, 1946,

Matapédia, Quebec Matapédia (former name: Saint-Laurent-de-Matapédia) is a municipality at the southern tip of the Gaspé Peninsula, in eastern Quebec, Canada. Matapédia is located along Quebec Route 132 on the border of New Brunswick. In addition to Matapédi ...

) became President of American Tobacco Co. after his father Percival Hill. He hired public relations expert

Edward Bernays Edward Louis Bernays ( , ; November 22, 1891 − March 9, 1995) was an American theorist, considered a pioneer in the field of public relations and propaganda, and referred to in his obituary as "the father of public relations". His best-known ca ...

to reverse the taboo against women smoking in public, which he did successfully by his advertisement campaigns.

Early life

Hill started his education at

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...

, but left during 1904 before graduating. His father was vice president of the

American Tobacco Company The American Tobacco Company was a tobacco company founded in 1890 by J. B. Duke through a merger between a number of U.S. tobacco manufacturers including Allen and Ginter and Goodwin & Company. The company was one of the original 12 members of ...

and as such George also worked there. After the company acquired the brand of Pall Mall cigarettes, George was responsible for sales and under his management the cigarettes became the most popular among Turkish tobaccos. As a result of an antitrust lawsuit the company was divided into four competing companies in 1911. Senior Hill was the president of the new American Tobacco Company and his son was assigned to be a sales manager. The

Lucky Strike Lucky Strike is an American brand of cigarettes owned by the British American Tobacco group. Individual cigarettes of the brand are often referred to colloquially as "Luckies." Throughout their 150 year history, Lucky Strike has had fluctuating ...

brand was introduced five years later by the company and George was in charge of the new brand, designing its advertising and marketing campaigns largely by himself.

Presidency

In 1925 George Hill's father died and he became the new president of the company. A year later Lucky Strike accounted for one fifth of U.S. cigarette sales, and the brand was among the five best-selling US-consumed cigarettes. In 1927 he began directing his marketing efforts toward women, which was a first. The success of the advertising campaign, which used movie actors and singers to promote the brand, can be attributed to

Albert Lasker Albert Davis Lasker (May 1, 1880 – May 30, 1952) was an American businessman who played a major role in shaping modern advertising. He was raised in Galveston, Texas, where his father was the president of several banks. Moving to Chicago, he be ...

of the Lord & Thomas agency, and

, both of whom were hired by Hill. Lucky Strike soon accounted for 38 percent of U.S. cigarette sales. During the Great Depression the company remained successful and Hill's salary exceeded $2,000,000. He made a substantial investment in advertising and sponsored

Your Hit Parade ''Your Hit Parade'' was an American radio and television music program that was broadcast from 1935 to 1953 on radio, and seen from 1950 to 1959 on television. It was sponsored by American Tobacco's Lucky Strike cigarettes. During its 24-year r ...

and the

Jack Benny Show ''The Jack Benny Program'', starring Jack Benny, is a radio-TV comedy series that ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th century American comedy. He played one role throughout his radio and televis ...

. He also sponsored

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

, Ethel Smith and

Lawrence Tibbett Lawrence Mervil Tibbett (November 16, 1896 – July 15, 1960) was an American opera singer and recording artist who also performed as a film actor and radio personality. A baritone, he sang leading roles with the Metropolitan Opera in New York ...

Death

George Washington Hill died in 1946 at age 61, in Canada's Quebec province. He is interred in

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York, is the final resting place of numerous famous figures, including Washington Irving, whose 1820 short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is set in the adjacent burying ground at the Old Dutch C ...

in North Tarrytown (now

Sleepy Hollow, New York Sleepy Hollow is a village in the town of Mount Pleasant, in Westchester County, New York, United States. The village is located on the east bank of the Hudson River, about north of New York City, and is served by the Philipse Manor stop on ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, George Washington 1884 births 1946 deaths Williams College alumni 20th-century American businesspeople Germantown Academy alumni Burials at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery