Perhaps the most successful cigar commercials ever, the Muriel Cigars 'Hey Big Spender!' series from the late 1960s - early 1970s, sung by Edie Adams (1927-2008), remain a delight. Here are 4 of these commercials all in one sequence of tobacco advertising history, also recalled by folks who continue to buy & enjoy the 'milder mellower' Muriel cigars today.
The song - lyrics just below - was adapted from 'Big Spender', written by Cy Coleman & Dorothy Fields for the 1966 hit Broadway musical 'Sweet Charity'. The 4 'Hey Big Spender!' commercials in this clip are:
#1 - 5 sophisticated gentlemen enjoying Muriel cigars, full version (0:57)
#2 - 5 sophisticated gentlemen enjoying Muriel cigars, short version (0:29)
#3 - Nightclub patrons joined by Edie Adams enjoying Muriel cigars (0:57)
#4 - Business people & investors enjoying Muriel cigars with Edie Adams (0:29)
The first 2 commercials especially, appeallingly reflect ethnic diversity & the fact that good style has no ethnic boundaries. The third commercial, beginning about 1:27, evokes the now-nearly-lost world of nightclubs where people could enjoy smoking cigars with one another in a lively public social setting. And in the final clip from the early 1970s, note the updated beat to the music.
The price of the cigar - 10 cents USA - is not so 'cheap' as it sounds, given that was an era when full-size brand-name chocolate bars cost only 5 US cents; so 10 cents circa 1969, given inflation, is maybe US $1.50 today, a current price for better-quality short-filler cigars. In the song, 'dime' refers to the US 10-cent coin, as Edie Adams invites her viewers to 'spend a little dime with me', a playful change from 'time with me'. The word 'joint' means 'a place', especially a bar, restaurant or club. Here's the full Muriel cigar 'Hey Big Spender!' lyrics:
The minute you walked in the joint
I could see you were a man of distinction
A real big spender
Good-looking, so refined
I figured that you're the Muriel-cigar-smokin' kind
So let me get right to the point
You're right in style when you're in Muriel's company
Hey big spender!
Spend ... A little dime with me
Hey big spendah!
Spend ... A little dime with me
Join the Muriel mild crowd
Pick one up & smoke it sometime
Muriel Magnum, Coronas & Panetela Extra, named in the last commercial, were the three main Muriel cigar types offered back then. From images & past & current cigar production one can estimate the size 'vitola' of the Muriel cigars promoted by Edie Adams as follows:
Muriel Magnum - 4 7/8" x 46 ring gauge - 124 x 18.26mm, figurado (tapered) slender robusto
Muriel Corona - 5 5/8" x 42 ring gauge - 143 x 16.67mm, full-length for this traditional centre of cigar sizes
Muriel Panetela Extra - 6" x 38 ring gauge - 152 x 15.08mm, long slender cigar similar in size to the favourites of famous smokers such as Fidel Castro & Zino Davidoff
