Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Cigarette Advertisement


After researching cigarette advertisements, I noticed that in the older ads the companies either focused on the “no harm” in smoking or used a strong sexual appeal to attract consumers. In the advertisement shown, the Tipalet cigarette company decided to use the sexual approach. The composition of the advertisement is very simple, consisting of just a man and woman with a solid yellow background. Both the woman and man are attractive and illustrate a strong sexual tension between each other. The slogan “Blow in her face and she’ll follow you anywhere” mirrors the sexuality of the advertisement. The advertisement implies that by smoking this type of cigarette, the smoker will be able to attract women more easily. I believe the company’s intended audience was young men who often idolize that specific lifestyle.

I think that during the time period of the advertisement it would have been very effective. It was used during a time when people though it “cool” to smoke and didn’t realize the harmful effects. However, if this
ad was used today I don’t think it would have the same appeal because the damaging effects are better known and the concept of smoking isn’t a new idea anymore. I don’t think the advertisement is crossing the line of being unethical, but there is definitely the underlying message that by smoking the cigarettes, women will flock around you. I think the consumer
should realize that this wouldn’t literally happen when smoking the cigarettes. Also, since the negative effects had not been made aware of yet, it can’t be expected for them to be listed on the ad.

This image was found at
http://www.crestock.com/uploads/blog/2009/controversial/25-tipalet-advert.jpg

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