{{Short description|Brand of chewing tobacco}} {{Other uses|Redman (disambiguation)}} {{promotional|date=March 2020}} {{Infobox company | name = America's Best Chew | logo = America's Best Chew logo.png | type = Private | foundation = {{Start date and age|1904}} | location = Owensboro, Kentucky, United States | key_people = | industry = Chewing tobacco | products = | revenue = | net_income = | num_employees = | homepage = {{URL|https://www.americasbestchew.com/|americasbestchew.com}} }} [[File:Barn painted with Red Man Chewing Tobacco Advertisement Macon Township Michigan.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Barn painted with Red Man advertisement, Macon Township, Michigan ]] '''America's Best Chew''' (formerly '''Red Man''') is an American brand of chewing tobacco introduced in 1904.<ref name="smh">[http://www.swedishmatch.com/en/Our-business/Chewing-tobacco/History-of-chewing-tobacco/ History of chewing tobacco] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214232955/http://www.swedishmatch.com/en/Our-business/Chewing-tobacco/History-of-chewing-tobacco/ |date=2009-02-14 }}. Swedish Match. Retrieved July 15, 2006.</ref>

Red Man traditionally came as leaf tobacco, in contrast to twist chewing tobacco or the ground tobacco used in snuff. It is made by the Pinkerton Tobacco company of Owensboro, Kentucky. In 1985, Pinkerton was acquired by a Swedish corporation, and after further corporate reshuffling, the brand fell under the umbrella of the Swedish Match company, which in turn was owned primarily by institutional investors. The proportion owned by non-Swedish investors was approximately 80%.<ref>[http://www.swedishmatch.com/Archive/Pdf/Annual2005_en.pdf Annual Report 2005] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070206044339/http://www.swedishmatch.com/Archive/Pdf/Annual2005_en.pdf |date=2007-02-06 }}, page 6, retrieved February 16, 2007.</ref>

In October 2022, the European Commission approved Philip Morris International’s proposed acquisition of Swedish Match, subject to conditions including the divestiture of Swedish Match’s logistics arm SMD Logistics, to address competition concerns in Sweden.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mergers: Commission approves Philip Morris International's acquisition of Swedish Match, subject to conditions |url=https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/api/files/document/print/en/ip_22_6372/IP_22_6372_EN.pdf |access-date=2026-04-21}}</ref> In February 2023, Swedish Match was acquired to 100% and was registered in the share registry on 28 February 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=COMPANY PRESENTATION |url=https://www.swedishmatch.com/globalassets/documents/presentations/2023_companypresentation_swedishmatch_en.pdf |access-date=2026-04-21}}</ref>

==History== The Red Man brand was introduced in 1904 by Pinkerton Tobacco (incorporated in 1901).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.swedishmatch.com/Media/Pressreleases-and-news/News/Red-Man--the-flagship-of-chewing-tobacco/|title=Red Man – the flagship of chewing tobacco|website=Swedish Match|language=en|access-date=2023-09-19|archive-date=2018-06-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180630220001/https://www.swedishmatch.com/Media/Pressreleases-and-news/News/Red-Man--the-flagship-of-chewing-tobacco/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Red Man was initially sold in a few Midwestern states; it expanded in 1954 into the South, and then in 1963 largely nationwide.<ref name="smh"/> The corporation's marketing material describes Red Man's consumer base: "A large number of consumers work outdoors and enjoy hunting, fishing and watch [sic] auto racing."<ref name="smh"/> Contemporary materials from Swedish Match also suggest that the brand name came from something of an homage to American Indians.<ref name="smh"/>

In January 2022, parent company Swedish Match announced that they would be changing brand's name to "America's Best Chew" and removing the depiction of a Native American chief on its packaging.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://richmond.com/business/iconic-chewing-tobacco-brand-red-man-is-changing-its-name-and-getting-rid-of-its/article_09714484-8fc4-5c98-954a-48d01c04bb0e.html|title = Iconic chewing tobacco brand Red Man is changing its name and getting rid of its Native American imagery| date=20 January 2022 }}</ref> Industry trade press reported that the rebrand was presented as aligning with Swedish Match’s contemporary values and that the product itself was unchanged while packaging transitioned in the following weeks.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2022-01-21 |title=Red Man Rebrands as America’s Best Chew - Tobacco Reporter |url=https://tobaccoreporter.com/2022/01/21/red-man-rebrands-as-americas-best-chew/ |access-date=2026-04-21 |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Advertising== Early in its history, Red Man advertisements were painted on the sides of barns, featuring an endorsement from baseball player Nap Lajoie: "Lajoie chews Red Man, ask him if he don't."<ref>{{cite book|author=Nunberg, Geoffrey|title=The Way We Talk Now: Commentaries on Language and Culture|year=2001|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Reference|isbn=0-618-11603-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/waywetalknowcom00nunb/page/32 32]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/waywetalknowcom00nunb/page/32}}</ref> During the 1920s and 30s, the company sponsored a professional basketball team – the Toledo Red Man Tobaccos. Marketing tie-ins with rural and outdoor sports have been a hallmark of the Red Man brand. From 1952 to 1955, Red Man produced a series of baseball cards, the only tobacco company to do so after 1920.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Zoss, Joel |author2=Bowman, John |title=Diamonds in the Rough: The Untold History of Baseball |year=2004 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |isbn=0-8032-9920-6 |page=[https://archive.org/details/diamondsinroughu0000zoss/page/18 18] |url=https://archive.org/details/diamondsinroughu0000zoss/page/18 }}</ref> The sets are valuable due to the appearance of 25 of the top players of 1952–55, including Stan Musial, Yogi Berra and Willie Mays.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Baseball Cards - 1952 Red Man Tobacco {{!}} PSA CardFacts® |url=https://www.psacard.com/cardfacts/baseball-cards/1952-red-man-tobacco/151 |access-date=2026-04-21 |website=Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) |language=en}}</ref>

In 1982, Red Man launched its first TV advertising ever, produced by the ad agency Benton & Bowles. This decision came after Levi Garrett's aggressive entrance into the chewing tobacco market in the United States.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/02/business/advertising-red-man-tobacco-tries-tv.html|title=Advertising; Red Man Tobacco Tries TV|last=Dougherty|first=Philip|date=1982|work=New York Times|access-date=30 June 2018}}</ref>

Since then, the brand has sponsored competitive events including the "Red Man All-American Pulling Series", a tractor pulling circuit, and the "Red Man All-American Bass Championship", a fishing competition.<ref name="pullads">{{cite news | title=Chewing Tobacco Ads to Be Less Obvious | work=New York Times|date=1991-10-31 | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE2D61F38F932A05753C1A967958260 | access-date=2006-07-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title=Arizona's Baldwin Takes First Day Lead in Red Man All-American Bass Championship | work=Major League Fishing | date=June 18, 1999 | url=https://majorleaguefishing.com/press-releases/1999-06-16-arizona-s-baldwin-takes-first-day-lead-in-red-man-all-american-bass-championship/ | access-date=September 19, 2023}}</ref> In 1991, under pressure from the Federal Trade Commission, which was enforcing a 1986 U.S. statute banning television ads for smokeless tobacco, Red Man agreed to stop displaying its "product logo, selling message or the color or design of the tobacco product or its package" during televised coverage of the tractor pulls.<ref name="pullads"/> The competitive fishing circuit that culminated in the Bass Championship was sponsored by the company and called the "Red Man Tournament Trail" from 1983 to 2000, after which Walmart took over as the name sponsor.<ref>{{cite news|title=Twelve Red Man bass divisions hold super events |work=Boats.com / Operation Bass |date=2000-09-05 |url=http://www.boats.com/boat-articles/Event+Report-118/Twelve+Red+Man+bass+divisions+hold+super+events/10442.html |access-date=2006-07-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050829013012/http://www.boats.com/boat-articles/Event%2BReport-118/Twelve%2BRed%2BMan%2Bbass%2Bdivisions%2Bhold%2Bsuper%2Bevents/10442.html |archive-date=August 29, 2005 }}</ref>

==Flavors and varieties== thumb|right|250px|Red Man Plug chewing tobacco *Golden Blend *Select *America's Best Chew Silver Blend *Original *Plug

===Dipping tobacco=== * America's Best Chew Cut Natural * America's Best Chew Long Cut Straight * Red Man Long Cut Wintergreen (discontinued in 2021)

== References == {{reflist}}

==External links== *[http://www.shorpy.com/node/2207 Shorpy] A photograph of outdoor advertising in Camden, NJ, 1939, showing the Red Man brand.

Category:Chewing tobacco brands Category:Culture of the Southern United States Category:Stereotypes of Native American people Category:Name changes due to the George Floyd protests Category:Tobacco brands