Lucky Strike was forced to change its green pack to white during WWII — it became the icon

In 1942, Lucky Strike was the best-selling cigarette brand in America, identified by its distinctive dark-green pack with a red target logo. The green ink was made with chromium, and the gold trim used copper — both metals were needed for the war effort. American Tobacco Company president George Washington Hill was forced to change the packaging.

Hill hired industrial designer Raymond Loewy to redesign the pack. Loewy's solution was radical: change the background from green to white, and reposition the red target logo to appear on both sides of the pack. The change was a commercial risk — Lucky Strike's green pack was its identity, and altering it could destroy the brand's recognition.

American Tobacco launched the new pack with the slogan 'Lucky Strike Green has gone to war,' framing the change as patriotism rather than a supply problem. The campaign was a stroke of marketing genius: smokers accepted the change because they believed they were supporting the war effort. The white pack also appealed to female smokers, who had been put off by the dark green. Loewy's redesign increased sales and cut printing costs by eliminating the green dye. Hill paid Loewy the $50,000 he had bet him.

The white pack with the double-sided target logo became the iconic Lucky Strike design that has endured for over 80 years. During the war, Lucky Strike was included in C-rations for American troops, cementing its place in American culture. The forced packaging change — a mistake born of wartime scarcity — became the brand's permanent identity.

Hired Raymond Loewy to redesign the pack white, and sold the change as patriotism with 'Lucky Strike Green has gone to war,' which boosted sales and cut costs.

Lucky Strike was forced to abandon its signature green pack because chromium and copper in the ink were needed for WWII — a supply shortage, not a strategic decision.

Changing the most recognisable packaging in the cigarette industry risked losing the brand's identity and its customers.

The 'Lucky Strike Green has gone to war' slogan was a cover story for a supply problem — but it worked so well that the forced change became a branding triumph.

A forced change is not always a loss — it can reveal a better version of what you already had. Lucky Strike's mistake was making the green pack sacred; the war gave them no choice but to improve it.