Why did General Foods replace Phillip Morris as sponsor during season 5? Did Desi have a fight with a Phillip Morris rep or something?

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Why did General Foods replace Phillip Morris as sponsor during season 5? Did Desi have a fight with a Phillip Morris rep or something?

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Phillip Morris decided that sponsoring I LOVE LUCY for 4 seasons wasn't giving the company the increased sales results that it had hoped for, so they dropped their sponsorship.

Actually, Phillip Morris had stayed with I LOVE LUCY longer than they had stayed with any other series that they sponsored during the earlier radio days. During the days of 1940's radio, the company would sponsor a series for a season or two, then switch to another series. They weren't like the American Tobacco Company (makers of LUCKY STRIKE) who sponsored series like THE JACK BENNY PROGRAM and YOUR HIT PARADE for years and years (first on radio and then on TV).