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Originally Posted by jp1216
I'm sure it's been discussed - but why was only the Johnson card targeted for correction? Is there a story behind it?
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The other cards in the set with Marlboro ads either show small portions of the sign or the sign in the background is out of focus. I think Fleer’s biggest concern was running afoul of The Comprehensive Smoking Education Act that was implemented a couple years earlier. The ad on the RJ card is in the middle of the image, perfectly in focus with the Marlboro lettering and the Marlboro Man being almost on display.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Statfreak101
With that said - the million dollar question. Why the heck wasn't the black box/corrected version just done right away?
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It seems that the method Fleer used to cover the ad for the common cards wasn’t an immediate solution that was available to them. I think they wanted to at least show some due diligence and obscure the tobacco advertising as best as they could while the more permanent fix was in the works.
Was the Ripken FF immediately corrected or is anyone willing to share how long it took Fleer for the common version of that card to come out after the discovery?
Quote:
Originally Posted by jacksoncoupage
What’s really surprising to me is that nobody has managed to track down someone in the know. No Fleer people on the record even sharing conjecture, questionable memories.
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I sent an email to Ted Taylor, who was a former spokesman or VP for Fleer, a few years ago inquiring about the Marlboro variations. He replied to me with this:
“Sorry I cannot help. I joined Fleer in January, 1992. In fact I never heard
anyone speak of any variations there except the Billy Ripken. As for
pointing you in another direction I'm afraid I can't help there either.
Fleer is dead and gone and the employees are spread all over the place.”
I came across some info on another fleer employee from around that time period, but I can’t locate it anymore. It sure would be cool to hear the true story about these cards from someone that was involved.