Olivia Gabriel

Mrs. Weathersbee
AP Language and Composition
10 April 2015
Cigarette Advertisement Analysis
The product I chose to analyze is cigarettes. People constantly see commercials
or posters promoting anti-cigarette views. The first advertisement I used is a static
advertisement created by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in their campaign
against smoking, specifically targeting teens. The second advertisement I used is an
audio/visual advertisement that is a commercial shown on television produced by the
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is shown to target all smokers.
The first advertisement, the poster of rotting teeth, was used in a campaign started

Administrator 5/8/15 9:25 AM

Comment [1]: Which specifically targets teens.

Administrator 5/8/15 9:25 AM

Comment [2]: Omit this section

Administrator 5/8/15 9:28 AM

Comment [3]: This commercial is aimed at
teens but still tries to have an effect on all current
and future smokers.

by the FDA to stop the use of cigarettes. They specifically targeted teens because they
arent scared of anything. Teens dont think about risks such as lung cancer that smoking

Administrator 5/12/15 8:52 AM

can cause. The depiction of the yellow and rotting teeth is effective because it is a visible

Comment [4]: The advertisement was directed

towards teenagers because they usually act
without thinking.

result of smoking. It makes the idea of how harmful smoking can be a reality. This

Administrator 5/8/15 11:18 AM

advertisement was published online and in magazines such as Teen Vogue. The

Comment [5]: Smoking can cause, such as lung

cancer.

placement of this ad online and in teenage magazines suits the desired audience. Teens
are always online, on social media, and looking at magazines with people their own age,
so they are places that this ad will be seen. The audience for anti-smoking
advertisements has always been everyone. These advertisements target all ages because
there is no certain age of people who smoke. The primary audience is the people that
don't smoke, especially teens, and the secondary audience is the people who do smoke.

Administrator 5/8/15 11:20 AM

Comment [6]: Usually, smoking
advertisements target all people.

Administrator 5/8/15 11:21 AM

Comment [7]: Smoking is not restricted to one
age group.

The non-smokers are to be convinced not to start smoking, and the smokers are to be
convinced to stop smoking. The tone of this advertisement is sarcastic. The author is
trying to convey that everything comes at a cost. Although people may think that

Administrator 5/12/15 9:09 AM

Comment [8]: The primary goal of the
advertisement is to prevent and discontinue
smoking as a whole.

smoking will cause no harm to them, and teenagers may even steal the cigarettes and
literally get them for free, it always comes at a cost. Smoking will ruin a persons health.
A rhetorical device used is a rhetorical question. The rhetorical question used is, You

Administrator 5/12/15 9:29 AM

Comment [9]: Although many people think that
cigarettes are not harmful, they are devastating to
physical health, financial health, and can lead to
other things such as stealing to cut costs.

get all your smokes for free. Or do you? The use of this device is effective because it

Administrator 5/12/15 9:00 AM

throws the thoughts back onto the audience. It makes the audience think about the

Comment [10]: Replace with A rhetorical

question is used to trigger a response from the
viewer.

Administrator 5/12/15 9:49 AM

negative effects of smoking and not just what they may enjoy about it.

The ad with the former smoker is shown often on TV to get people to realize the

Comment [11]: The use of this device is

effective because it allows the audience to think
about themselves and how it can make an impact.

effects of smoking. The subject is the problems with smoking and trying to convince
people to realize the dangers of smoking. The purpose is clearly shown because of all of
the negative effects seen in the short video. Anyone can see that the purpose is to prevent
all people from smoking and also, to convince those who already smoke to quit.
Showing how difficult it is just to get ready in the morning will make people think about
the negative effects of smoking. It will make them to reconsider their decision to start or
continue smoking. This ad is shown on television constantly on a variety of channels to
capture a variety of people and catch their attention. It definitely catches one's eye and
makes anyone in the audience cringe, which is the goal. The primary audience is those
who do not smoke to keep them from smoking, while the secondary audience is those
who already do smoke to try to convince them to quit. This can often be a much more
difficult task. The tone of the advertisement is very dim, dark, and melancholy. It is very
interesting because one of the effects of smoking, losing your voice, conveys the actual

Olivia Gabriel 5/21/15 2:52 PM

Comment [12]: This ad is shown on a variety
of channels to capture a broad audience.

Olivia Gabriel 5/21/15 2:54 PM

Comment [13]: It grasps the audience and
shocks any viewer.

tone of the ad very well just because of how she sounds. This is very effective because it
allows the tone to be shown but also shares another consequence of smoking at the same
time. The ad is extremely effective because of its negativity. Negativity is very
noticeable and catches the eye of the viewer. The thought process of the creator is that

Olivia Gabriel 5/21/15 3:01 PM

Comment [14]: This is effective because the
writer gets the tone across and shares the
consequences of smoking.

people will see this and never want to be in the person's shoes. Ethos, logos and pathos
are all seen in this ad clearly. Morally and ethically most people would not want to
damage their bodies due to smoking. Logically no one would ever want to be in that
position and have trouble doing every day things because of the consequences. The
viewer is emotionally distraught after viewing the ad because of the terrible things that
can be seen. The viewer is sad and also disgusted which is effective in trying to prevent
actions.

The visual ad is so much more effective than the poster. The reason for this is

Olivia Gabriel 5/21/15 3:03 PM

Comment [15]: The viewer is emotionally
impacted

Olivia Gabriel 5/21/15 3:05 PM

Comment [16]: The writer uses sadness and
disgust which are two important factors in trying
to prevent the audience from smoking.

because of the quantity of information forced into the ad. In the poster, all you can see is
the teeth and one negative effect. In the visual ad you can see the aging, day to day
difficulties, voice change, and physical appearance. This ad does such a good job of
showing almost all of the negative effects of smoking in one thirty second clip. It is short,
so the audience isn't committing a lot of time in viewing the message but for the short
time they are captivated by the negative effects. When a viewer sees this on television
they want to look away because of how disgusting it is which is convincing and
persuasive to force the audience to consider the effects of smoking and its major
consequences.

Both of these ads are effective and use ethos, logos, and pathos to get their

message across. They show that if a viewer sees negativity they are likely to respond.

Olivia Gabriel 5/21/15 3:07 PM

Comment [17]: When someone sees this kind
of ad they want to look away in disgust. This is a
convincing technique because of how the viewer
is going to look at smoking, a bad habit and health
risk instead of an enjoyable activity.

The ads and their negative effects accomplish their positive goal to keep people from
harming themselves.