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Anti-Smoking Ad: Week 4

October 4, 2012 by Francis Flores   

So, when I initially saw this prompt, I immediately knew what I wanted to use! Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against smoking because people have that right to choose, but this ad did scare me when I first saw this, so I thought I’d share.

This ad was created by the California Dept. of Public Health, California Tobacco Control Program and it is generally intended for a broad demographic of adults, teens, and younger children. Their most famous ad being one in which they show the effects of smoking, they intend to show the “evils” of the tobacco industry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiVC2uhnlKk

This ad is intended, I think, for an audience of adults, even those with families. I think the thing that appeals most to the audience is the image of the grim reaper, which displays the fact that death is lurking when tobacco is smoked or sampled. Because of its addictive nature, the tobacco industry allowed for free samples to be given out, and this ad exaggerates the effects of this addiction.

The other thing that I think appeals to the audience is the song choice. It’s a rendition of “Lullaby,” sung by Honey-Honey, and it creates an eerie feeling. The song sounds so soothing and sweet, but what its actually emphasizing is the creepiness in the grim reaper feeling that this ad is trying to portray. The song is actually what attracted me to this ad in the first place. The reason I was so terrified of the ideas given from this ad was because of the song. Also, the women that give out the free samples are so seemingly innocent, and I think that they used a woman for this ad for that reason. Since woman generally give off a more maternal vibe, people would be more likely to take this sample from her, but they would least likely suspect that it is her who is offering the very substance that could potentially kill them.


2 Comments »

  1. Ammara Ansari says:

    Wow that add was strange and I get why you chose to analyze it. It is quite different but to the point and really self-explanatory. And the fact that you tied it to such an important topic just makes it all the more better. Keep up the good posts, I’ll occasionally be reading them!

  2. Patrick Yan says:

    I completely agree with you! When I first saw this ad, I was a little bit terrified with the grim reaper and almost expected an old, creepy man to step out of the hood. Then this gorgeous, disarming woman takes off the cloak and begins handing out samples. I think this ad brings a lot of attention, both through the music and the scary rendition of the grim reaper to the dangers of free samples of an addictive drug.

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