Not to be outdone, Brown & Williamson weighs in with its Lucky Strike “American Original” campaign from Bates, peppered with pouty hipsters in standard-issue greasy hair, leather jackets, and Skechers, looking about as friendly as Osama bin Laden’s bodyguards.

But the focal point for this work is in Philly, where those rogues at Gyro Worldwide’s oeuvre for Red Kamel and Kamel Menthe has proved the most outrageous cigarette advertising in years. Everything from classic ’40s pinups to staged movie tableaux to ’70s cop shows have helped create a brand image that’s sophisticated, media-hip, and damned appealing. Even might make you want to, well, hell – just go grab a pack and light up!

The irony, of course, is that this work has begun to get interesting just when its future is in jeopardy. While the industry dodged Draconian restrictions on ad content when last year’s big tobacco settlement fell apart, some observers feel it’s only a matter of time before