Lark is an American brand of cigarettes, owned by Altria Group, and manufactured by Philip Morris USA in the United States and Philip Morris International for the rest of the world. History Introduced by Liggett & Myers in 1963, and notable for its charcoal filter and past advertising campaigns, Lark was launched in 1963 by Liggett & Myers with its trademark charcoal filter in an effort to halt a five-year downward drift in sales. The distinguishing feature of the brand, both in terms of physical characteristics and taste was the 3-piece "Keith" filter (named for Dr. Charles H. Keith, "Supervisor of Physical Chemistry" for Liggett & Myers, who developed it)- the middle section of which contains small charcoal granules, which purportedly reduces the harshness of the cigarette's smoke. Liggett & Myers underwent several name changes over the years but kept the Lark brand in their product mix until 1999, when Liggett Vector Brands Inc. sold Lark, along with the L&M and Chesterfield brands for $300 million to Philip Morris Companies Inc., later known as Altria. (The sale involved only domestic rights; Philip Morris already owned the international rights to the three brands, which it had purchased in the late 1970s.) Since its introduction and despite several prominent advertising campaigns, among which was one featuring people on the street being asked to "Show us your Lark pack", Lark has never held a large share of the U.S. cigarette market. , the brand had less than 1% of the U.S. market share, but was extremely popular in Japan. U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan II smoked Larks. Comedian George Carlin discussed the "Show us your lark" ad on the album AM & FM (1972). Advertising history From its introduction in 1963, the brand came in a maroon-colored package with white print (the trademark shield was initially white but was soon changed to gold along with some of the other graphics). And for most of the brand’s life it has sported the slogan "Richly Rewarding, yet Uncommonly Smooth". Although Philip Morris continues to promote the brand heavily in Japan, it receives little to no advertising in the United States. This would explain why its share of the U.S. market has declined over the years since experts generally agree that cigarette brands usually lose market share when they are no longer promoted. Past advertising campaigns, however, have been conspicuous. Much of the advertising,