Analysis of Three Ads- Essay: Anti-Smoking

Erin Molello

English101

Analyzing Ad Campaigns Essay

Anti-Smoking

In today’s society you are constantly hearing about the consequences of cigarettes, that they cause cancer, rot your teeth, cause premature wrinkling, and many more things that in the hype of wanting to be beautiful many would not desire, but yet why are people dismissing these problem? These ads work together to try to awaken people by providing visual aids, showing people the consequence your body faces every time you give in to the bad habit of picking up a cigarette.

The ad in figure one features a man smoking a cigarette. The background is faded with the smoke from his cigarette, allowing the man smoking to be the main interest and what catches viewer’s eyes. The color scheme in this ad campaign is very neutral, except for the “mutation” sitting on the cigarette which is a redish/pinky flesh color, allowing this to be the only vibrant color in the ad makes views eyes go straight to it when first seeing the ad. The faint but still prominent smoke line coming off the cigarette, right above the so called mutation, runs right next to the words in this campaign, allowing the audience to first look at the mutation and then follow the path of smoke to be informed of what they are looking at. The words “Every 15 cigarettes you smoke cause a mutation that can become cancer.” This sentence allows the viewers to then realize this redish/pinky flesh is actually a mutation that is potentially inside your body from cigarettes, informing the reader that this ad is indeed an anti-smoking campaign. This ad campaign is intended for smokers and is used to show the harsh consequences of smoking that most people are oblivious to. In today’s society something commonly said is that cigarettes lead to many types of cancer, a main one being lung cancer. But allowing the audience to have a visual aid of what could potentially be in their body due to this bad habit, is a very powerful way of getting the point across. This ad is obviously focused around the mutation of the cigarette implying a problem in today’s society that many might not know, then to the right the words “Search ‘SmokeFree’ for free quitting support.” implies a solution for the people struggling with the problem of smoking. 

At first glance; an everyday, normal looking teenager girl is what to be seen in figure 2. She’s not a superstar, you don’t know her name, she’s not incredibly gorgeous to the point that the audience is aweing over her, she’s a normal girl, she could be the person next to you on the bus, or she could be you. She is someone the audience is able to relate to. But then a second look is taken and you see the hook through her lip, she’s been caught, she is being reeled in. Her facial expressions and body posture show her being distressed and in pain. Look into her eyes and you see sadness, lost hope, as if she has given up and is excepting her fate, she believes since she has already been caught there is no hope for her. The attended audience for this ad campaign is the everyday person who has lost hope due to being caught in the vicious cycle of this bad habit; the habit which leads to needing “… over five thousand cigarettes a year.” as we learn from the words in this ad campaign. Smokefree, the company responsible for this ad intends for their targeted audience to appeal to it through emotions. When looking at this ad the many emotions shown by the girl are very noticeable. Her hair is tied back allowing you to see her face yet she has no prominent features which would make you compare her to others, they do not display her as a girl with her own identity but a girl who could be anyone, the targeted audience is to look at this ad and see themselves in it. Then with the words stated on the ad the viewers come to the realization that they are affected by this just like any other person, that they as well as this girl are being stripped of their own identity, becoming no more than a statistic that states something they need. They do not possess the choice anymore, they don’t get to decide if they just want it, no, they “…need over five thousand cigarettes a year” because they too, are hooked. “Get unhooked”, the next thing written on the ad followed by a number to call and a website to visit, this is how Smokefree portrays that they not only want to help people acknowledge their problems but help them get passed them and help the world become a smoke free place.

The ad in figure three features a lit cigarette hanging over a clear ash tray, the edges of this picture are darkened in order to help bring attention to the middle of the image. The harsh red color is what first catches the viewers eye in this prominently neutral color scheme. The slightly disturbing take of human blood falling in clumps out of the cigarette, which is obviously not trying to portray the natural consistency of human blood, is a bit of an upsetting and uncomfortable image to look at. Black clumps appear throughout but mainly tend to stay on the outer edges of the splattered blood. Looking closely, you see what looks like to be normal blood compiled into the mess of grimy dirt and toxins which are trying to take the form of blood. But you can notice the difference between the two, your body can notice the difference. This mess of dirt and toxins infused together isn’t what your body needs, this sickening image of what is in your body and the fact that “…every time you smoke…” these toxins build up more and more in your blood, isn’t that enough to help viewers realize they have a problem? That smoking is harming you not after 10 or 100 cigarettes but after one after “…Every time you smoke..”.  Well this was exactly Smokefree’s intensions when making this ad. Using a gruesome but honest visual aid to allow their targeted audience of smokers to really be informed of what they are doing to themselves; the words stated simple and plain “Every time you smoke your blood gets thick and dirty with toxins” as a fact to awaken those who are blind to the consequence of this specific action they choose to take. The ad states after “search smokefree” in order to further help their targeted audience with their unhealthy addiction.

Three ad campaigns; a mutation that can cause cancer, the need for cigarettes, and the thick dirty toxins you inhale which then consumes and transforms your blood. Smokefree the promoter and creator of these three ad campaigns has a clear theme; uncomfortable, disgusting, even gruesome in a way images, visual aids, not just another voice in the crowd telling you its bad, but an image showing you the consequences. Awakening one to the realization that it is happening to you, that the bad habit of smoking is taking over and transforming your life and if you let it continue… well the ads don’t mention that but maybe now the smokers will have more reasons to listen to the voices.

Potential Topics- Literacy Narrative

Potential topics: Writing in elementary school vs. writing in middle school, Ap history class (how i learned to write differently)

Writing in elementary schools vs. middle school: 

1) A clearly identified event: What happened? Who was involved? In elementary school I loved to write, it was a way for me to be creative and express how I felt. I had teachers who told me I would never have a problem with writing, that I would always succeed in it as long as I put effort into my work. Then I made the transition to middle school where writing was no long for the purpose of gaining experience and becoming comfortable with writing but now was more of a test, and way to be graded and prove that you had the skills to succeed in writing, basically writing was no longer fun. It turned into solely a means for a grade, and 9 times out of 10 you had to write what your teacher wanted to hear in order to receive that grade, which completely cut out the creative part of it I loved.  

2) A clearly described setting: When and where did it happen? 

First my elementary school with bright yellow walls, tiny chairs, and children’s art hanging everywhere.  Next the bigger school with the bigger chairs; the middle school. Instead of the orca mascot I had been use to for 6 years (K-5th grade) I was now starring at the huge panther mascot which laid on the floor. Instead of children's art there was more helpful things hanging on the walls like such as dictionaries, atlases, and maps.

3) Vivid descriptive details: What makes the story come alive? To include vivid descriptions and make my narrative come alive I will describe the setting of my class rooms by adding sensory imaging, how it smelt, what I tasted, and even things such as how the room itself made me feel. I will describe my classmates who impacted my story and most of all my agate teacher Mrs. Kragen.

4) A consistent point of view: Who's telling the story? Because this is a story from my life that affected me it will be written from my point of view which will allow me to include what I am thinking at times and how I feel about certain situations I was put in.

5) A clear point: Why does the story matter? This story matters because it had a huge impact on my life by making me the writer I am today and impacting how I viewed/view writing. 

My 10th grade AP world history class:

1) A clearly identified event: What happened? Who was involved? In my ap world history class I had to learn a different type of writing than I was use to. In the beginning it was a struggle for me, in former english classes I was taught to write and expand on ideas on most papers teachers would give an amount of words or pages you paper would have to meet or exceed, that was not the case in ap world. My teacher Mr. Bernal would assign a paper or prompt and would tell us it must be less than 2 pages. We were taught to included only what was needed and nothing more. 

2) A clearly described setting: When and where did it happen? I will include this in my narrative by describing the setting of my 10th grade Ap world history classroom and the library in which we used many times to work on projects, papers, and to find information.

3) Vivid descriptive details: What makes the story come alive? To included vivid description, I will add sensory details in my writing by talking about emotions I felt trying to figure out this new type of writing that I was not understanding at first, and how I felt once I finally understood it.

4) A consistent point of view: Who's telling the story? Because this is a story from my life that affected me it will be written from my point of view which will allow me to include what I am thinking at times and how I feel about certain situations I was put in.

5) A clear point: Why does this story matter? The point of this story is to show that even when your older and have already learned and so called mastered the fundamental writing techniques, there is always the chance that a teacher will expect something different than what you were taught. This story also matters because it has made me the writer I am today and throughout my ap world class i learned many of useful writing techniques that I believe I will use for the rest of my life.