From "Marlboro Man" and John Wayne to Beyoncé at New York Fashion Week – the cowboy hat, the ultimate US emblem of rugged masculinity, is being subverted.

By tapping into the magic of Marlboro Country, the cigarette company created an ultramasculine cowboy icon, The Marlboro Man, whose ads ran successfully for decades. 05/17/2023 | Rating TV-PG.

Adam Lanham smoked Marlboro Reds—but not for long. They were too expensive, and Mr. Lanham, who is 20 and an auto detailer from Marion, Ind., has no interest in growing up to be a cowboy ...

Donald Trump and the Marlboro Man are case studies of branding success. When Philip Morris introduced the cowboy on its ads in 1955, sales were at $5 billion.

Cowboy style means something different for every group and era — from the vaqueros to Buffalo Bill, Madonna to the Marlboro Man, Lil Nas X to Louis Vuitton.