Caballero (cigarette)


Caballero is a Dutch brand of unfiltered cigarettes owned and manufactured by British American Tobacco. Caballero is the Spanish word for knight.

History

Caballero was founded shortly after World War II. In 1945, the Dutch advertising agency Prad was formed, and created the famous slogan "Caballero, anders dan andere." in which popular Dutchmen, mainly from the artistic parts of society, promoted the product. A song was also created by the Dutch amusementband Leedy Trio, called "Ay-ay-ay! -die Caballero".
The cigarettes had a market share of 4% in the 1950s due to the lack of popularity in comparison to the more popular brands Roxy and Lexington at the time, the simple look of the pack and because the cigarettes cost 0.80 cents compared to other brands, which cost 1 Dutch guilder. Instead of increasing the price to 1 guilder for 20 cigarettes, there was opted to put 25 cigarettes in one pack, effectively offering more cigarettes for 1 guilder. The move turned out to be a success, increasing Caballero's market share from 4 to 36% in just a few years, also thanks to the effective advertising campaigns with the famous "Mexicaantje".
The cigarettes were produced in the Caballero factory in Nieuw Binckhorst. Production moved to Zevenaar after BAT acquired the factory in 1995.
Main market is the Netherlands. Other markets are or were Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and Spain.

Sport sponsorship

Caballero sponsored the cycling team of Jan van der Horst from 1962 until 1972 and participated in the 1970 Tour de France under the "Caballero-Laurens" name.