Cigarette Advertising in Modern Society

1108 Words3 Pages

Over the years, advertising has come a long way. From the 1920’s focus on improved social status and communism fears to advertisements staged like MTV videos so the target audience will think of the fun from MTV when they see the product (Maasik 144, 147-148). Although the merchandise keeps changing, one thing will remain constant: the use of imagery in marketing goods to the masses. Stuart Hirschberg, coauthor of The New Millennium Reader, notes, “The claim the ad makes is designed to establish the superiority of the product … and to create a distinctive image for the product …. The most important technique for this image depends on transferring ideas, attributes, or feelings from outside the product onto itself” (240). Looking around, one sees that the image means everything for the product. A bad image leads to disinterest in the product and sometimes even downright refusal to recognize its existence. Likewise, a good use of imaging encourages consumers to choose that particular product to help attain the desires promised by the advertisement. A recent cigarette ad provides a great example of how the arranging of clever imagery—active people, cool places, and refreshing colors—coerces the target audience to feel at ease with Newport brand cigarettes.

Right from the start the eyes center on the words “Newport pleasure!” languidly flowing in the foreground in big, orange colors slightly overlapping the only picture of the product. Intrigued, they slide down to a young, handsome man with dark hair, bronzed skin, and a great physique running out of the ocean sporting a yellow bodyboard and a carefree laugh. Sharing the spotlight is a beautiful, young woman whose toned body and genuinely delightful smile draw more than a just one...

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...d words combine to create a subconscious message to the viewer that this product is absolutely necessary in bringing happiness into their life. Sonia Maasik, coauthor of Signs of Life in the USA: Readings on Popular Culture for Writers¸ emphasizes, “By substituting desirable images for concrete needs, modern advertising seeks to transform desire into necessity …. If advertising worked otherwise, it would simply present you with a functional profile of a product and let you decide whether it will do the job” (146). Cigarettes portray themselves as the keystone for living an active, fun life—the irony being that they destroy those. With today’s society under a constant barrage of market bombing, one should beware of the attacks that penetrate their defenses. Many businesses know how to aim the spotlight to prevent onlookers from viewing the skeletons in their closets.

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