Launched in 1953 by British American Tobacco, the MaryLong cigarette brand was specially created for the Swiss market.
The name is a contraction of 'Maryland' (the origin of the tobacco) and 'long' (the cigarettes were unusually long for the time).

But who is Mary, the model who posed in 1953 for MaryLong?

The posters for the advertising campaign of the company are created by Archie Dickens, an english illustrator known for his pin-ups.

In 1953, he drew the face of an elegant young woman with a boyish haircut, and doe eyes, holding a Mary Long cigarette between her slender fingers with impeccably red-polished nails.

Discover our collection of MaryLong posters from 1953 to the present day.

But who was the model behind this face?

Who is Mary, this model who posed for Archie Dickens?

This question has haunted the public for decades. Was she the cartoonist's girlfriend, June Ward? The Swiss model Colette Schneider? An unknown woman? Or simply a woman born of the artist's imagination?

Over the years, the image evolves according to the fashion of the time. Mary no longer has her earrings and straight fringe, but she still wears her polka dot scarf and pearl bracelet; her charming gaze remains unchanged.

1958: Mary's face becomes more stylised, depicted in three-quarter profile against a white background.

The Swiss Colette Schneider?

Nicknamed Coco, Colette Schneider was born in French-speaking Switzerland. She became a prima ballerina at the Zurich Opera House before pursuing a career as a model in Paris. She modelled for Jacques Fath and Christian Dior. She recounts how a photographer once approached her in the street and asked her to pose as a model without telling her for what purpose.

Seeing herself in Mary Long posters, she then claimed to be the iconic 'Mary'.
In the streets, people called out to her, soliciting for autographs and asking her if her name was really Mary.

The Australian June Ward?

The famous British pin-up artist Archie Dickens is said to have used the face of one of his favourite models — his young wife at the time, June Ward, who was Australian. She appeared in many of his pin-up drawings and on a 1955 poster for the ‘Raleigh’ bicycle brand. She had doe eyes and a short fringe, and her nails and lips were painted a deep red.
At the time, Dickens claimed that the model for Mary Long was June Ward, his wife at the time.

Archie Dickens would say about the Swiss Colette Schneider: 'I'm not
calling her a liar, but she has a rather strong imagination’.

August 1966: Again from a three-quarter profile angle.
Mary charms us with her playful eyes and her heart-stopping locks in place of her earrings.

Circa 1967:

Circa 1970:
Three-quarter profile, left or right, Mary's seductive look remains the same.

The icon MaryLong

If we can't say with certainty and supporting evidence that MaryLong's face is that of June Ward or Colette Schneider, do we really need to? This iconic face has marked her era and influenced the style of many young women. Mary has become a person in her own right in the collective imagination thanks to her popularity, from paper to reality.

Early 1970s, Mary whispers to us, in a comic-book bubble of psychedelic shapes and colours, that she is "so sweet".

Circa 1975: The colours yellow and red are back in a simple design.

The 1980s: The MaryLong mood.

In 2003, to celebrate the brand's 50th anniversary, the company reproduced the image from 1955 in the form of an advertising cardboard and also created a resin bust bearing Mary's face.

Copyright Galerie 1 2 3, JD Clerc & Y. Sabbatini, 2025