In 1972, the Brown and Williamson Tobacco Company ran a promotion through which customers could purchase a Heuer Autavia chronograph for $88, with proof of purchase of a carton of Viceroy cigarettes (which consisted of 1o packs). At that time, Autavia chronographs were being sold for $200, through the normal dealer channel.
I will be writing more about the Viceroy promotion, and the impact on the Heuer brand, but wanted to create this page to show the advertisements for the Autavia promotion, along with some other Viceroy ads from 1972 that used the motorsports theme, and showed Heuer chronographs and stopwatches.
Below is a portion of the advertisement, in high resolution.
The following table shows the magazines in which the advertisement for the Heuer Autavia promotion was placed. The first advertisement appeared in the May 15, 1972 edition of US News and World Report, and the last advertisements for the Heuer Autavia promotion ran in August 1972. By its terms, the promotion ended on December 31, 1972.
| US News and World Report | May 15, 1972 |
| Life | May 19, 1972 |
| Newsweek | May 22, 1972 |
| Time | May 29, 1972 |
| Sports Illustrated | June 5, 1972 |
| Sports Afield | June 1972 |
| Argosy | June 1972 |
| Field and Stream | July 1972 |
| Mechanics Illsutrated | July 1972 |
| Sport | July 1972 |
| Guns and Ammo | July 1972 |
| Motor Trend | July 1972 |
| Playboy | August 1972 |
| Penthouse | August 1972 |
| Outdoor Life | August 1972 |
| Popular Mechanics | August 1972 |
| Car and Driver | August 1972 |
| Road and Track | August 1972 |
The photo-shoots for the earliest advertisements must have been done, before Viceroy had arranged for the sponsorship of the Vel’s Parnelli Jones racing team. These advertisements show “generic” cars and the racing suits and helmets do not show the Viceroy colors or logo.
The first appearance of a Vel’s Parnelli Jones car in a Viceroy advertisement comes in May 1972, with the advertisement on the left. This advertisement ran before the launch of the Heuer Autavia promotion, but the racer’s chronograph and the timing board with three stopwatches is prominent in the ad.
The program for the Indianapolis 500 included a Viceroy advertisement (shown below) that did not run in other magazines. The Number 9 car was driven by Mario Andretti, in the 1972 Indy 500.
Shown below are Viceroy advertisements that ran during and after the Heuer chronograph promotion, from June 1972 through December 1972.
