Today as we discussed different advertisements I was truly
shocked by the different cigarette ads.
I can’t quite put a finger on why, it could be how truly stupid the
scene of the ads were or maybe the ridiculous slogans. Whatever it is I decided to take a look at
different cigarette advertisements. The
ads I saw on Google were all over the place and were quite hysterical. Ads included babies pleading for cigarettes
for their dad, jolly St. Nick enjoying, and even an endorsement from Ronald
Reagan. With all of those genius ads
this one particular ad took the cake.
When I first saw this ad I paused then immediately exploded into
laughter. I understand this ad was in a
different time but I still am amazed that this ad eased people’s fears about
the dangers of smoking. The ad is
dominated by red and yellow colors as we discussed in class draws people to the
ad and can cause a raise in appetite that could easily be curbed with a nice
lucky strike cigarette. The biggest
factor in this ad is the endorsement by “20,679 physicians say ‘Luckies are
less irritating’.” People at the release
of this ad were concerned about the health dangers of smoking and with the
approval from doctors it eased many people’s nerves. These cigarettes not only receive doctor’s
approval but they are also good for your throat and ease coughing. These cigarettes were marketed as a healthy
smoke that won’t have any negative impact on your body. I’m sure at the time it was an effective ad but
knowing what we know now its funny to look at it. Know you probably couldn’t find one real
doctor to positively endorse cigarettes.
It’s interesting to look at ads over time to see how they have evolved.
Pete, is there anyway you can repost the picture? For whatever reason, it comes up as a blank white box with a blue question mark in the middle of it for me. Otherwise, I think you bring up a really valid point about the evolution of advertisements over time. Now, with all the knowledge and technology that we have, looking at advertisements from way back when are actually comical. Take the ads we looked at in class where women were depicted in such a docile sort of way. Back in those days, that was common but now, it might be viewed as offensive. What I find the most noteworthy is not so much how the ads change but how the views of society change, which, in turn, cause the advertisements to change.
ReplyDeleteThe evolution of ads really is interesting to look at. When we saw the posters in class talking about women knowing their place I actually laughed out loud because that would never be acceptable in today's society. The evolution of cigarette ads is one of the most interesting things to look at in my opinion. There is such a stark contrast from old ads depicting cigarettes as a key to fun to today's ads showing graphic representations of the impact of cigarettes on the body.
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