Cinema advertising was big business to the point that companies were even sponsoring the intermissions! The 'Time for a Capstan' advertising campaign was popular in New Zealand in the 1940s and 1950s. These ads associated having a Capstan cigarette with relaxation. During the Second World War they were often promoted to women who had just entered the workforce as a way of unwinding after a workday.

During this time the cinema interval was long enough to catch up with friends, restock your confectionary and have a cigarette. As a result of the increasing evidence between smoking and cancer, cigarette advertising in cinemas ceased in 1973.

This slide would have been briefly shown in local cinemas just after the lights dimmed. Some slides, like the one shown, were professionally made. Others were blank pieces of glass which could be written on with removable ink. Projectionists could then write messages on the slides, such as asking if a doctor was in the audience if a patron suffered a medical event.

Someone showed this slide for a bit too long though- the heat from the projector has cracked the glass!

I have my grandfathers tobbacco tins with all the lovely pictures of women doing gardens, and men mowing lawns, pushing rollers, or just seated having a good old cigarette with each other while children are seated around them (some 30 years old now these tins), and the political irony to these lovely pictures? Well they are emblazoned on tobbacco tins, bold as brass with the stupid headings that read..." Smoking is good for your health", "Smoking is refreshing", and even a "Smoking does not damage your health" title...YEAH RIGHT! It looks as though there will always be a black market for smokers now that the govts have been promoting our sporting arena for decades using these tobbacco comapanies to a). promote healthy sporting events, and b). addict people with their poison along the way, remember the ads on telly..."The Benson & Hedges Tennis Open", "The Winfield Cup NRL", "The Rothmans Grand prix" and so on & so on. But today it is sacrilige, a big no no because they need our money to pay for roads, obesity, cancers, but most of all...That KYOTO Protocol crap, we are all going to pay for that one you can be sure! the govts the world over have finally found a tax they can impose on their entire nations, keep an eye out for more govt trends as they go about their affairs at our expenses.

If I could I would.