HB (cigarette)
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Haus Bergmann is a
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
brand of
cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into Rolling paper, thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhale ...
s, currently owned and manufactured by
British American Tobacco British American Tobacco p.l.c. (BAT) is a British multinational company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, tobacco and other nicotine products including electronic cigarettes. The company, established in 1902, is headquartered in London, E ...
. The name ''HB'' is derived from the name of the Dresdner cigarette factory ''Haus Bergmann'', which was acquired by BAT in 1932.


History

HB cigarettes were first brought to the market in 1955 in
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
. The brand was first advertised with the slogan ''"'"'' ("A filter cigarette that tastes good"). This was an innovation to the German market in which most filter cigarettes could only achieve a market share of 7.2% at the time of introduction of HB cigarettes; the introduction of HB has significantly accelerated progress towards the filter cigarette. HB brand cigarettes quickly spread in the German market thanks to their simple design, on which the brand still builds on as a modern, dynamic cigarette and has in turn become attractive to young people. British American Tobacco was less concerned with young and dynamic people than with simple profits when they bypassed the international trade embargo against
Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...
in the 1970s and marketed HB there. It was an investment that could pay off. By the mid-1990s – Rhodesia had long since become independent and was now
Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...
Marlboro Marlboro (, ) is an American brand of cigarettes owned and manufactured by Philip Morris USA (a branch of Altria) within the United States and by Philip Morris International (PMI, now separate from Altria) in most global territories outside the ...
had been unable to place itself on the local market of the country, which was still dominated by HB. In 2016, BAT reported it had plans to close their factory in
Bayreuth Bayreuth ( or ; High Franconian German, Upper Franconian: Bareid, ) is a Town#Germany, town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtel Mountains. The town's roots date back to 11 ...
and move production to
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, most notably
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
,
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
,
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, 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 and ...
or
Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
. This would be the first time a German cigarette brand who was always produced in Germany, would move production outside of Germany. At its peak, the German factory produced 53 billion cigarettes a year, around one third for the German cigarette trade and the remainder for export, especially to other European countries. It is currently unclear if BAT actually moved the production or not, however.


Advertisement


"

The ('HB Man') is a cartoon character with whom BAT advertised the HB cigarettes. Bruno, the unofficial name of the HB Man, is one of the best-known advertising figures in the history of German commercial television. The commercials in cinema and television with Bruno always ran according to the same pattern: It represented everyday situations where something always went wrong, whereupon Bruno became terribly upset, raging with incomprehensible language (it was Arabic, played backwards with double or, accordingly the increasing excitement, was played at a higher speed) and literally "went up in the air". The following slogan – spoken from the off with a soothing voice – read: "Stop, my friend! Who's getting mad so fast? Better reach for a HB!" And Bruno hovered as the ('HB-King') relaxed back to the ground in a good mood, accompanied by the voice: "Then everything goes by itself". The cigarette was thus advertised as a problem solver and relaxant, a concept that still applies to many products today. Commercials with Bruno were produced from 1957 to 1984, after the advertising ban on cigarettes on television (1974) but only shown in the cinema. In the 1960s, it brought the HB male on a profile of 96% of the audience. At that time HB was the best-known cigarette brand in Germany. Creator of this figure, which was initially drawn in black and white, was the cartoon director Roland Töpfer. Today, HB cigarettes are no longer advertised due to the bans on cigarette advertising in Germany.


Printing works

In 1977, the series of HB image atlases was established. The travel guide series in DIN A4 format, published as , dealt with travel destinations in Germany and around the world. The series trades since January 2010 in a new design as the ''Dumont Picture Atlas''. From 1979, a nature magazine was published outside (price 1979: 6.50
Deutsche Mark The Deutsche Mark (; "German mark (currency), mark"), abbreviated "DM" or "D-Mark" (), was the official currency of West Germany from 1948 until 1990 and later of unified Germany from 1990 until the adoption of the euro in 2002. In English, it ...
), which in each volume thematized a landscape area from the European area. It was discontinued in 1987. In 1983, the were added, in which various regions and art landscapes of Germany and Europe were presented in words and pictures. The series existed until 1997. All ranks appeared in the on the name of the cigarette brand based HB publishing house and distribution company in
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
.


Special edition cigarette packs

As is customary in the industry, the HB brand has from time to time published cigarette packs that deviate from the standard design, with special motifs intended to make customers curious and bound to the brand. For example, at the beginning of the 1990s HB had the "Undercover" special series, in which the cigarette packs were completely black, and in 2004 the ''"Growing Regions"'' special series, which presented tobacco growing areas to the consumer, as well as – matching the European Football Championship 2008 – the (literally: 'We are Celebration Country') series, for which the cigarette packs were made in German national colors (black-red-gold) and with one of the slogans "", "", "" or ""''.''


Market share


Before

In their year of origin, 1955, HB cigarettes achieved a market share of only 0.4%. This value was increased to 5.6% in the following year, and to 12.9% in 1958. In 1959, with a market share of 17%, the brand first reached the top position among the cigarette brands marketed in Germany, which it was able to defend until 1984. In 1975, HB cigarettes were the best-selling in Europe. Since 1986, the
Marlboro Marlboro (, ) is an American brand of cigarettes owned and manufactured by Philip Morris USA (a branch of Altria) within the United States and by Philip Morris International (PMI, now separate from Altria) in most global territories outside the ...
brand has become the most popular cigarette brand on the German market.


Today

Today, the HB cigarette family is still one of the most sold cigarette brands in Germany. However, their market share dropped from 4.7% to 3.5% between 2002 and 2007. This development is partly due to the fact that HB's parent company, BAT, focuses primarily on international premium brands, such as
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." Name Lucky Strike was introduced as a brand of plug tobacco (chew ...
, or low-price brands, such as Pall Mall, but not on typical German companies, such as the HB family. Nevertheless, the HB family, with its market share of 3.5%, is still represented in the top ten of the most sold cigarette brands in Germany. As of 2016, the market share of HB has dropped below the 1%, and may be taken off the German market due to the new EU legislation of cigarette packaging, which enforces big picture warnings and limits the space for manufacturers to advertise their brand. The brand is mainly sold in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, but also was or still is sold in
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
,
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,
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,
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
,
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,
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,
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,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
,
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, 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 and ...
, the
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,
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,
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and
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(Duty-Free Shops only).


Sport sponsorship

HB sponsored the
Audi Sport {{Commons category, World Rally Championship teams Teams A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of ...
Rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Political demonstration, a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a North American school or college sporting event Sport ...
team in the 1984 World Rally Championship. This continued until the 1987 World Rally Championship. HB was also a sponsor on multiple race tracks in the old 500cc class on tracks like the
Hungaroring The Hungaroring is a motorsport racetrack in Mogyoród, Pest County, Hungary where the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix is held. In 1986, it became the location of the first Formula One Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix behind the Iron Curtai ...
in
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, 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 and ...
and on the
Dutch TT The Dutch Tourist Trophy, also known as the ''TT Assen'', and also sometimes known as the Dutch Motorcycle Grand Prix, is an annual Dutch motorsport event established in 1925 for road racing motorcycles held on the TT Circuit Assen, also known ...
in
The Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. They also sponsored various teams in the 500cc and 250cc championships, such as the Suzuki MotoGP team (known as "HB-Suzuki", driving the Suzuki RG 500 gamma) from 1982 to 1986, the Honda MotoGP team (known as "HB-Honda" in the 500cc, driving the Honda NSR500, and as "HB Römer-Honda" in the 250cc driving the Honda NSR250) from 1983 to 1996 and the Yamaha MotoGP team (known as "Team HB Venemotos", driving in the Yamaha YZR 250) in 1987.


See also

*
Tobacco smoking Tobacco smoking is the practice of burning tobacco and ingesting the resulting smoke. The smoke may be inhaled, as is done with cigarettes, or released from the mouth, as is generally done with pipes and cigars. The practice is believed to hav ...


References

{{British American Tobacco 1955 establishments in West Germany British American Tobacco brands German brands