捲菸工業是上海最依靠廣告的行業之一。當時香菸廣告使用的素材，有數量頗為可觀的京劇相關圖像。其中機率最頻繁且延續年代最久，以各種造型、姿態，在這些商品廣告與包裝上出現的名伶是梅蘭芳。菸商的選擇反映了消費者的崇拜趨向，梅蘭芳長期存在於香煙廣告媒介中，可見梅蘭芳在消費者心中是京劇的代表人物，也是讓京劇具有時尚指標意義的推手。但梅蘭芳之所以能長期獨佔香煙廣告版面，有一個相當重要的原因：梅蘭芳男身塑女形的性別曖昧。這種曖昧正好可以藉由香煙廣告中對香菸挑逗兩性情慾的主題傳統，迎合香菸消費者憑藉想像滿足本能愛慾渴望之狂想，而對大部分消費者來說，也只有透過購買香菸，蒐集偶像倩影，才能間接滿足此願望。

Cigarette industry was one of the most dependent on the advertisements in Shanghai. Tobacco merchants use a lot of image of actor in Peking Opera on their advertisements. In that time, Mei Lan-Fang appears in the Cigarette Advertisements most often. It reflected Peking Opera is the leader of the fahion, and the changes of Mei Lan-Fang's status in Peking Opera. Mei Lan-Fang appears in the Cigarette Advertisements most often, because Mei Lan-Fang is an actor who act female roles always. It meets the imagination of the romance in the smokers' minds.