There were two photo shoots for this ad, One in Doylestown, PA and one in Florida.
The jet pilot in the ad is Russ Youngblood, Tony’s son-in-law.
Doylestown, Pennsylvania
The filming continues…
Article written by Grace Fairbanks, Tony’s Granddaughter, in 1999 at age 20, which was published in Ballooning magazine.
CAMEL: EVERY INCH A REAL SMOKE
While looking through a time worn shoe box of old photographs I discovered a series of photos of great interest. These pictures told the story of when my grandfather Tony Fairbanks, used his famous balloon, The La Coquette to make a magazine advertisement for Camel Cigarettes.
I had known that my grandfather was a well known and respected balloonist. His first balloon flight was in 1931. He flew a hydrogen balloon over the Alpine Mountains of Europe seven times. He was the first Federal Aviation administration Pilot Examiner as appointed in 1952. However, there are a lot of interesting stories that I didn’t know. Through these anecdotes I realized the importance of family and a love of ballooning to my grandfather.
In June, 1963, Tony Fairbanks was asked to inflate his gas balloon for a Camel cigarette advertisement. The La Coquette was the star of the movie, “Around the World in 80 Days”. A hydrogen gas truck inflated the 19,000 cu. ft. balloon. The balloon sat on a grass field for “take after take” of the models lighting their Camel Cigarettes. This combination of cigarettes and gas balloon doesn’t mix. Hydrogen gas is extremely flammable.
If the pilot or crew were to light a cigarette while inside the wicker basket, the hydrogen filled envelope would ignite in a huge fire ball and seconds later the flame filled balloon would crash onto the basket below.
The actors as shown in the published Camel Cigarette ad are smoking but with the balloon standing well in the background.
My grandfather chose my uncle, Russell Youngblood, to be the actor featured in the advertisement. Uncle Russ was a jet pilot in the Air Force. The military had just begun to promote an “anti-smoking” campaign. He had obtained permission from his commanding officer to make the advertisement. Without this permission, he would have been dismissed from the Air Force.
My grandfather “passed on” his love of ballooning to many people, including myself. Ever since I was little, I can remember being awaken before dawn to go ballooning. I love to see the bright and colorful balloons lift gently off the ground and float up into the sky. Then the chase begins as a game, finding the prize and following it to the finish line.
Flying in a balloon is very exciting. I took my first flight when I was six years old. I don’t remember being scared, at all. It seemed natural to me. This may have been because I was too short to see over the basket.
My dad had a bright red balloon called the Sweet Chariot. We were attending the Festival De Montgolfieres in Saint-Jean Sur Richelieu, Ontario, Canada in August 1985. My dad recalls that when I was awakened in the early morning to drive to the balloon launch field, I waved my little hands vigorously in front of my face and stated, “I am so happy, I am going on my first balloon ride today”. Not to disappoint a child, who had the thought to fly on that day, I was lifted into the basket and carried aloft by two pilots, dad and Albert Padelt. Drifting slowly over the crowd below, we waved to granddad. He had inflated the La Coquette with cold air and the balloon was supported by a large crane. The last inflation of this old gas balloon. A special gift from granddad to the people of Saint-Jean Sur Richelieu.
My grandfather taught me the importance of family. Ballooning was family activity. He got the entire family involved. My grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins would plan vacations and holidays around balloon festivals and balloon activities. Other balloonists became close friends as if they were
actually part of our family. We have a lot of great memories doing something we all enjoyed. When my grandfather passed away last October, I realized how special he was to me. I wish that I had spent more time with him to appreciate and hear all of his ballooning stories.
The filming in Florida
