Hightower 1

Stephen Hightower
ENC 1101
Ashley Humphries
3/23/15
Word Count: 1805
Anti Smoking
Anti smoking ads have always been around during the modern era. I cannot
remember a time where cigarette commercials were not played on television and at times
they tend to get very repetitive. After witnessing grandparents on both sides struggle to
cope with everyday life due to long-term cigarette usage. However, even after struggling
with the smallest of tasks and losing a limb due to cigarettes, they still managed to smoke
on a regular basis. This caught my attention when I spotted online an ad that came out
obviously during the nineteen fifties that portrayed cigarettes as the next best thing to
sliced bread. The brightness and happy nature of the ad shows how manipulated and
morphed the image of cigarettes was made back in the fifties. With ad I created an anti ad
that really tried to keep the original ads main components, but foreshadowed what could
really happen to in this case, the childs parents if they continue to smoke.
The first thing I saw when I came upon this ad was the words I remember
Momma and Poppa. This was fairly easy to replace, since 443,000 people die
prematurely from smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke, and another 8.6 million
live with a serious illness caused by smoking(Tobacco use). I decided to simply
change the exclamation mark to . This gave a subtle, but meaningful feel to the
whole phrase, so the reader can infer that something bad had happened or is currently

Hightower 2
happening to the little kids parents. I decided to also change the little boys face from
smiling, to crying to intensify the message I was trying to convey to the reader from the
opening quote.
During the fifties and sixties, the amount of people smoking cigarettes was
astonishing. The media and people during the time portrayed cigarettes as if they saved
lives. From stories from my grandparents, doctors were known to prescribe cigarettes to
their patients for different symptoms which shows the manipulated image cigarettes had
during this time. At first glance the vividness and energetic nature of the photo can really
catch the readers eye and make the ad seem very trusting. With no negatives to the
original ad, the main idea during this time was the carton of cigarettes as a gift brought
upon happiness and that is reflected in the ad and shows that people were clueless to what
cigarettes really could do for ones health in the future. The large centerpiece, which is the
carton of Chesterfield cigarettes, is centered so it is seen as the most important part of the
ad. This is to grab the readers eye, and send the message that if you are going to give a
gift to someone then a carton is always a gift. The Boys gesture to his parents saying I
remember momma and Poppa! really sums up the piece as a whole as it shows the lack
of knowledge people during this time had towards cigarettes. The reason this caught my
eyes was the fact that the ad seems to be so cheerful and upbeat, which baffled me in the
thought that during this time cigarettes were so care free and socially accepted by
everyone. Which differs from the generation now, where it is generally frowned upon,
and or not allowed like in airplanes. The general dislike of cigarettes came into play when
people started getting more and more knowledge of what was going into their body and

Hightower 3
the health risks that came along with it. And in the anti ad I tried to portray the risks and
possible outcomes from the use of cigarettes that the people didnt know of at the time.
In my anti ad I decided to target the new age of people who smoke cigarettes and
the people who had the wrong idea about during the fifties and sixties. Part of the original
ad is going to stay the same because the lack of knowledge came in handy to show that if
you dont care the results are not as good as youre thinking they will be. The anti ad
really takes a darker approach to the entire piece, but that is with the knowledge of the
world today. After seeing what cigarettes can do to someone on a personal experience,
cigarettes really are looked at in a completely different light. The severity of cigarette
addiction is not portrayed in the original ad what so ever, and that is why the color I
decided to go with was grey.
With the gloomy background it sets the tone of the ad to very unpleasant. The
reason behind this is, cigarettes should never be glorified in any way shape or form, and
by changing the background; it changes the readers emotions for the piece as a whole. It
then moves onto the opening quote of I remember momma and poppa. The change
from the more upbeat quote to the more depressing was that in this kids case, the result of
his parents smoking these cigarettes was not a pleasant outcome. I left the actual outcome
up for interpretation since there are a wide variety of health conditions people can obtain
from smoking. This goes hand and hand with the little boy, I changed him from smiling
to upset because, An estimated 88 million nonsmoking Americans, including 54% of
children aged 311 years, are exposed to secondhand smoke. Even brief exposure can be
dangerous because nonsmokers inhale many of the same poisons in cigarette smoke as
smokers(Tobacco use). And most likely if both of his parents are smoking he is

Hightower 4
getting exposed to high amounts of second hand smoke. Lastly the thing I changed from
the original was instead of having the pack of cigarettes by itself, I changed it to a
gravestone. This is to symbolize that cigarettes may cause death, on the new packs of
cigarettes it says cigarettes may cause cancer, this little adjustment was somewhat of a
way of notifying the readers that cigarettes can lead to death, but the other side affects
had been hinted at in the other parts of the ad.
The original ad obviously appealed to everyone back in the time it was originally
marketed even little kids who would give cigarettes as presents. As there was a lack of
knowledge about how the world should look at cigarettes, the ad did a good job in giving
kids and parents positives that came out of smoking, rather than exploiting the fatal
outcomes. The new ad really focuses on getting the true outcomes and hazards of
smoking cigarettes out there. Although, the ad originally came out in a time where little
information had been found out how fatal cigarettes really could be, it shouldnt have
made it appeal to kids. With the vivid colors and child with a huge grin on his face from
being reminded of his parents when he sees the box of cigarettes. This most likely makes
these types of kids want to follow in their parents footsteps, which obviously would be to
smoke the same kind. This is the complete opposite message that the company, and or
media should be publicizing. Even in other cases where the child may not want to smoke,
his or her parents are smoking in which they are receiving second hand smoke at a very
high rate, and in large amounts which can lead to serious disease and death, including
heart disease as well.
Both ads would be effective in their different eras. The reasons for both
ads being effective for there given time was based on the publics general view on

Hightower 5
cigarettes. The original ad worked as it reflected how the people felt towards cigarettes
and that was shown through the ad being happier. In todays society the anti ad goes along
with many other ads and that is pointing out the negatives to smoking cigarettes and that
is why the anti ad would work in its given time as well. The information the ad could
have given to the people in the nineteen fifties could have saved countless lives.
However, unlike the anti ad the original would not work in the modern day. The original
as could be seen as more of sarcastic approach to dealing with cigarettes rather than
convincing people to buy them.
In todays society the health facts are pointed out in everything, but during the
fifties and sixties there was a lot less knowledge about serious health risks on cigarettes.
During the fifties and sixties nobody really cared what was in cigarettes, it was socially
acceptable and everyone did it. This was due to the lack of knowledge during the time.
However, the ads that were created were to benefit the sales of cigarettes and in that light
it really helped. This was a positive outcome of these ads, but with the information we
know about cigarettes today the ad looks like an invitation to your own funeral. In todays
society the anti ad towards cigarettes is on nearly every commercial break you have
between shows. The reason for creating the anti ad was to appeal to the younger
audiences as well as the older generations that still continue to smoke even after they
have seen the results of this long-term exposure. From personal experience my family has
seen the quality of life completely change due to the long-term exposure to cigarettes.
Even though their life was in constant worry due to these illnesses and handicaps the
family members continued to smoke. The reason for changing parts of the as; such as the
boy from smiling to being extremely upset and crying was because other than the fact

Hightower 6
that second hand smoke can cause as many problems, the main talking point from the
original ad to the anti ad was the family being brought together. Through personal
experience the outcome of cigarettes does the complete opposite and that is tearing
families apart. This anti ad really takes the original ad and ads the information we know
of today to show the outcome, thus appealing to the older age groups as well as keep
appealing to the kids in todays society.

Hightower 7

Hightower 8
Works Cited
"Tobacco Use." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, 16 Nov. 2012. Web. 06 Apr. 2015.