We all remember the advertisement from the 1987 anti-drug campaign launched by the Partnership for a Drug- Free America. "This is your brain," said a man picking up a frying pan. "This is drugs," he said, holding two eggs. "This is your brain on drugs," he said after cracking the egg open and frying the yolk in the pan. "Any questions?" asked the man.
There is no reason TV Guide decided to name the commercial as one of the top 100 of all time other than the fact that it was influential. It was controversial, and it opened people's eyes when youth smoking began to spiral out of control.
After that 1987 ad, the movement to fear-based advertising to get the message across permeated our television screens. Be it smoking, drugs or alcohol, fear became a weapon used to get across the idea of quitting all the vices of society.
Thanks to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), we have a new campaign to watch. It is all about stomping out the cigarette - nothing new - in a far more graphic fashion than anything we have seen before.
The fear-based message has always struck an accord with people. However, the fear has become more intense and less metaphorical since the days of the frying pan and the egg. While the messages certainly catch the attention of anyone who sees them, two questions remain. Are the ads ethical? And more importantly, do they actually work?
The most recent appeal to the public comes from the CDC in their first national advertisement campaign targeted at people who smoke or those thinking about the possibility of smoking. More graphic than anything seen in any anti-drug or anti-smoking campaigns in the past, the public service announcements are intended to serve as a sort of wake-up call to those who have been smoking for years or those who have most recently picked up a cigarette.
One ad features the morning routine of a former smoker named Terrie. She lost her teeth and hair. She also had to have a tracheotomy after being treated for throat cancer. Her routine, as featured in the commercial, includes putting in her teeth, putting on her wig, placing a handsfree voice box over the hole in her throat and then placing an ascot around her neck to conceal the hole.
Another involves secondhand smoking. Aden, Jessica's son, has asthma. Secondhand smoking has triggered the asthmatic outbreak. He is on all sorts of medication and hooked up to hoses in the emergency room. The ad targets specifically those people who think secondhand smoking is not important or a bad influence to society.
The CDC lists on their website that the goals of the campaign are to encourage smokers to quit and serve as a resource for those who want it. They also want to build a "public awareness" to the "immediate health damage" caused to people because of smoking. The messages key home the points that 1) the time to quit is now and 2) if you do not quit, you will die. Any questions?
The problem with these advertisements is they focus far too much on the second point: the "don't" factor. There seems to be a common theme that has been developing. Health campaigns are focusing far more on what the consumer should not do instead of what they should do. Sure, there are recommendations and tips online for people, but the premiere instance revolves around the "don't" do that, or "don't" do this message.
Why must cigarette cartons and advertisements show images that are so graphic in nature? Why can't they simply list the tips to quitting smoking on a carton or on television? Sure, it might not be as effective, but it's moving away from the era of "don't" and toward the era of "do." People need to see ways they can improve, not the consequences of the detrimental decisions they have already made.
The graphicness of the ads should not be taken lightly, and the promise they will be delivered via television, print and radio is not empty. If you have children or spend time around children, beware of this. While I will not say the ads are exactly inappropriate for young people (by young I mean less than 10 years old), I will say they are far beyond the images they should be seeing.
But at the end of the day, no matter what the ad says or shows, it comes down to quitting. There's proof that smoking is dangerous, so at least consider moving forward in your life by quitting to protect yourself and those around you. If you're interested in taking the next step, visit www.cdc.gov/quitting/tips or call 1-800-QUIT-NOW.
