Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Export A


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.  

The result was DELETE and REDIRECT. --Madchester 04:22, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

Export A

 * Delete: Reads like an advertisement, fails notability Leuko 17:52, 9 August 2006 (UTC)


 * DON'T DELETE; The user above has no clue about this brand and probably doesn't smoke. Just because he doesn't know this brand does not make it insignificant.  In fact it's one of Canada's oldest brands of cigarettes and is available at nearly ever tobacco store and kiosk in Toronto (where I live part of the year) and Oregon (where I live the rest of the year). It's so notable that the Government of Canada has Export A in their historical Database!  Here is the text from the Government of Canada's archives;

RJR-Macdonald Inc. Since Before Confederation… In 1858, six years after moving to Montreal as oil commission merchants, William C. Macdonald and his older brother Augustine launched McDonald Brothers and Co. Tobacco Manufacturers. Initially the company imported tobacco from Kentucky and manufactured chewing and smoking tobacco plugs. The business prospered and in 1866 underwent a name change to W.C. McDonald Tobacco Merchants and Manufacturers. That same year the brothers initiated a heart-shaped logo and coined the phrase “tobacco with a heart” – a trademark that lasted more than a century.

RJR-Macdonald has carried on manufacturing in the Ontario Street, Montreal, building since 1876.

Many changes took place in the business. Augustine eventually left the company giving William full control. By 1876 expansion was necessary and the company moved its manufacturing facilities to Ontario Street East in Montreal, where the original building is still used today. The present buildings house both research and manufacturing facilities under the name RJR-Macdonald Inc.

With the growing financial success of the business, William became an integral part of the financial establishment of Montreal and the nation. Named a director of the Bank of Montreal, he established himself as a leading philanthropist, ultimately pouring millions of dollars into health and educational causes, particularly McGill University. Besides funding both a student and science building, he quietly provided numerous scholarships and endowed a number of chairs, one of them filled by Ernest Rutherford, famed pioneer of atomic research and future Nobel laureate.

For his generous support of various health and education causes he was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1898. At that time he changed the spelling of his thriving tobacco company name from McDonald to Macdonald. As Sir William, he continued to support rural education, providing funding for colleges in agriculture and household sciences in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario. He also provided funding for the consolidation of Vancouver and Victoria colleges into the McGill University College of British Columbia, which later became the University of British Columbia.

The process of manufacturing tobacco products has evolved to present-day high-tech, state-of-the-art equipment. RJR-Macdonald Inc. produces more than 15 billion units annually for domestics and worldwide distribution.

Upon his death in 1917, Macdonald, a bachelor, left the company to the Stewart brothers who had started their careers with the company as clerks. Walter Stewart became president and under his management, the company extended production to cut pipe tobacco and the first “roll your own” finecuts. In 1922, cigarette production was added, cigarettes being sold in packages of 10s, 20s, and 50s. In 1928 Export cigarettes were introduced. First known as British Consol Export, the cigarette package became distinctive in 1935 with the addition of a Scottish lassie wearing a Macdonald of Sleat tartan kilt. Created by Canadian artist Rex Woods, the Lassie has remained a company symbol ever since.

During World War II, the company provided cigarettes to Canadian troops overseas. By 1945 fifty percent of the Canadian forces smoked Export cigarettes. This helped the company maintain a dominant share of the domestic market during the first postwar decade. Under Walter’s son David M. Stewart, the company diversified into cigar making during the ’60s.

The Stewarts retained ownership of the Macdonald Tobacco company until 1974 when it was bought by R.J. Reynolds Industries of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Four years later the name was changed to RJR-Macdonald Inc. to take advantage of the growing recognition of R.J. Reynolds as a major multinational corporation that was made even more so with the merger of R.J. Reynolds and the Nabisco Corporation of New York in 1985.

As a subsidiary of R.J. Reynolds International, RJR-Macdonald, now headquartered in Toronto, has the capability of drawing on the financial, technological and research resources of its international parent. It continues to produce a full range of Canadian cigarette brands, fine cut tobaccos, cigars, and cigarette papers. Most of its Canadian products are produced from Virginia flue-cured tobacco grown in southwestern Ontario. It also imports and distributes several well-known American brands which are manufactured by its sister company R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

The plant in Montreal has seen many changes, undergoing a major program of modernization and renovation during the ’80s. With state-of-the-art equipment, the plant is capable of producing more than 15 billion units annually, and has a reputation for producing high quality products, some of which are produced for and distributed by RJR affiliates in other parts of the world, such as Japan, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East.

Operating in Canada for more than 138 years, RJR-Macdonald has been associated with many special causes and sporting events. For years it has provided financial assistance and marketing expertise to help promote sports such as downhill and freestyle skiing, curling, windsurfing, hockey, fishing, and recently hydroplane boating and golf. While sponsorship of such programs may be curtailed in the future by government legislation, the company remains committed to providing assistance to cultural, recreational, educational, and humanitarian institutions for as long as it can. It is also proud of its role as an equal opportunity employer, its long-standing record of good management-employee relations and its identity as a successful company with roots clearly and firmly established in Canada. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mrtobacco (talk • contribs) NOTE: This is separate from RJR and was only recently purchased by them :( --Mrtobacco 19:13, 9 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Delete and merge into R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. Agent 86 19:11, 9 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Delete. Or entirely rewrite to make it not sound like an ad.  --דניאל talk  contribs   Email 19:22, 9 August 2006 (UTC)
 * KEEP and stubbify. Considering the visibility of this brand in Canada, it certainly is notable enough to have an article. Afterall, Lucky Strike has an article. 132.205.93.19 19:42, 9 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Weak delete: Deletion seems a little premature, but I agree that what little NPOV info contained in the article might be more suitable in the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company article until further notable information specific to Export A comes along. The supposed popularity of the cigarette does not lend support to its inclusion as a separate article as opposed to a redirect to R.J. Reynolds. On the other hand, an article discussing the history of this brand prior to its acquisition by R.J. Reynolds would merit separate inclusion in the encyclopedia.  BFD1  19:48, 9 August 2006 (UTC)


 * Keep This is a textbook example of a "15 seconds of research would establish notability" nomination, and I suspect that the long newbiecruft here has led other editors to vote delete. The article needs work, but the brand itself is notable and comparable to Du Maurier (cigarette) as one of Canada's largest and most notable brands. BoojiBoy 20:57, 9 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Comment. I don't think that most of the delete votes are because of any lack of notability.  Rather, it is because of a lack of useful information in this article.  This article could be rewritten but it would have to be done from scratch anyway.--דניאל talk  contribs   Email 21:19, 9 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Comment. Agreed. Please assume good faith on the part of other editors, BoojiBoy.  --Madchester 04:20, 10 August 2006 (UTC)


 * Strong Keep. Name brands of cigarettes are important elements of popular culture. Many, many works of literature make specific reference to them, and the distinction between brands is often a particular mark of character. personality and/or social aspirations. A person smoking, say, unfiltered Lucky Strikes has a different cultural connontation than someone smoking, oh, menthol Virginia Slims. Such distinctions are on the wane, as the rate of smoking declines, which is a strong case for WP documenting these brands, Export A included. One hundred years from now, the only way to understand just what an "Export A" was may well be by consulting WP. I'm not a smoker myself, but this has clear sociological notability. --Pagana 23:00, 9 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Keep. Seems a notable brand. Sources are verifiable. Doesn't really seem like advertising. -- zzuuzz (talk) 01:23, 10 August 2006 (UTC)


 * Delete Advertising for cargciongens --Xrblsnggt 03:15, 10 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Silly comment above This is not supposed to be an anti-smokers forum - Export A is a notable brand regardless of your personal feelings against tobacco.--Mrtobacco 03:21, 10 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Delete WP:AD and my personal belief that a single comment on an XfD which is longer than the article itself is never a good sign. &mdash; MrDolomite | Talk 04:17, 10 August 2006 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.