Style of Modern Tobacco Advertisements

Creepy clowns

Since the aim of this advertisement is to discourage tobacco use, its creators shaped its style to make smoking seem unappealing. From the very first frame, the audience perceives a dark, almost-empty parking lot of a seedy convenience store, reinforced by the clown image, which for many people connotes creepiness or even terror. This is not an inviting location. Once inside the store, the audience notices the eerie glow of the fluorescent lights, as well as the loneliness of the scene--the customer and the cashier seem to be the only two in the store. Viewers note this isolation, as well as the atmosphere reminiscent of hospital lighting (foreshadowing of health problems, anyone?), and associate them with the act of buying cigarettes. Further, the cashier's detached attitude while making the sale conveys the harsh reality of the consequences of tobacco use. Finally, the voiceover at the end of the advertisement uses colloquial English, referring to cigarettes as "smokes," in order to connect casually with the average American consumer. The writers avoid using medical jargon or accusatory language to make their point. Instead of sounding like a lecture, the tone of the narrator's message more closely resembles advice given by a friend. In conclusion, this advertisement combines a negative image of the reality of tobacco use with a warning issued to sound caring. It de-glamorizes smoking by presenting both explicitly (tooth loss) and subliminally (loneliness and sketchiness) the consequences of tobacco use, then suggesting that avoiding such outcomes is in your best interest.

Advice from a friend