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Startling Anti-smoking Advertisement Essay

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Anti-Smoking Campaign’s Startling Advertisements

A child who has lost his mother in a busy airport is a scenario that most audiences pay attention to. It’s thrilling in a way- will the protagonist find his mother? This video commercial is one that leads the way in the anti-smoking campaign. A young boy is walking alongside with his parental and the next minute is alone. Looking around trying to locate her, the effort is unsuccessful. Unaware what to do next, he cries and cries (See Figure 1). A narrator voices, “If this is how your child feels for losing you for a minute, just imagine if they lost you for life. (13QUIT)”

Figure 1
Based on the voice of the narrator, we can conclude that the commercial was produced in Australia. The …show more content…

It features a middle-aged woman who gives the audience tips on how to get ready for the day. She was first identified as a former smoker and is shown with a stoma, which she speaks out of (See Figure 2). From there, “Terrie” goes through the routine of putting in her teeth, wig, and “hands free device” (CDC).

Figure 2
This advertisement was produced within the last five years by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a government agency. The audience is again, smokers in general. I like to think it is designed partially for smokers who haven’t yet been damaged (physically) by smoking. The damage has been done on aged smokers, which might not be as influenced, knowing what it can do. This advertisement is rather nauseating and crude due to its rough material. Displaying a woman living with a stoma is stunning for any audience. It becomes one’s best interest to not smoke after seeing this- logically, consumers are going to be turned off by cigarettes with the possibility of needed a stoma one day. I don’t quite agree with the setting of the phrase near the end, “Smoking causes immediate damage to your body. (CDC)” This is probably true but not appropriate when advertising someone with a condition that was cause by years of smoking.

Both advertisements have very strong messages to send. Neither can really be captured using still images due to the fact they have such an intense story to display. The major differences that I

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