bubbles

So for my media and culture class, we had to choose an advertisement and talk about it. Everyone chose negative advertisements so I decided to pick an ad that sent a positive message. Below I have the explanation for the advertisement:




The commercial was made by the California Anti‐Tobacco Company and was sponsored by the California Department of Public Health. The commercial was created to promote a smoke‐free lifestyle and its target audience includes everyone who smokes and is affected by second hand smoking. People who may benefit from this message include those who smoke, those who are thinking about quitting, those who are affected by second hand smoke, and the environment; it encourages everyone to quit smoking and to advocate a healthy lifestyle and clean environment. Those who may be harmed by the commercial would obviously be the tobacco industries because it discourages the public to buy their product which in turn hurts the company economically and financially. The commercial may serve as inspiration for those who are having difficulty with the decision of smoking because it provides them with a positive perspective of a hopeful future where everyone is happy and healthy.

The commercial provides the public with an insight into a world without smoking. It shows a variety of different people in various public settings: friends at a café, business people in front of a building, students next to school lockers, and everyday people walking the busy metropolitan streets; they are all blowing bubbles when in a realistic world they would be smoking. The ad encourages people to stop smoking and shows them how beautiful a world can be without it. At the end of the commercial it shows a father driving and blowing bubbles while his child plays with the bubbles in the back seat. It appeals to parents especially and non‐verbally communicates to them that their child should never have to be around the harmful toxins of cigarette smoke. In short, the commercial mostly targets the idea of second hand smoke. The ad is concluded with the line “Imagine a world without cigarettes.” It is a short and inspirational phrase. It can be applied to someone who has seen the commercial and the next time he or she thinks about smoking, this phrase may pop into their heads, and it could prevent them from lighting up because they wish for a better world.

The technique used in this commercial include symbolism with an emotional approach: music in the background, the happy faces on the people blowing bubbles, and the baby playing with the bubbles instead of inhaling cigarette smoke. Why bubbles? Bubbles are chosen to as an opposite of cigarette smoke because they represent everything that is fun and innocent; these bubbles present an extreme contrast to cigarettes because they remind us of our childhood and innocence. This is why a baby is seen at the end of the commercial to grasp the viewer’s attention‐to show him a beautiful and innocent image. Cigarette smoke on the other hand is a metaphor of our stolen innocence. This stark contrast is what evokes an emotion in the viewers. It sends a sweet message to everyone and really shows the viewer an admirable world in which everyone can exist healthy and in harmony. The ad is neither fact nor opinion, rather a perspective on something‐asking viewers to imagine. It does not force an opinion or state factual information. It takes a viewer into another imaginary world for a mere 30 seconds leaving them with a new perspective on something that is controversial.