Advertisement Analysis – Cigarettes Smoke People

A print advertisement by the Cancer Patients Aid Association, an association which raises awareness of cancer through screening and prevention.

The advertisement depicts two ladies, with only their arms left visible, sitting at a table in a bistro with cigarettes in their hands. The ends of their arms resemble lit cigarette butts, which are hastily getting burnt out, and smoke were coming from the ends of their arms, instead of the cigarettes that they were holding in their hands. The message at the top right corner says, “Cigarettes smoke people”.

I think that the designer was trying to convey the message that when people are smoking cigarettes, their bodies and health are the ones that are being consumed by the cigarettes, instead of the other way around. The image shows that the rest of their bodies have probably been burnt out, with only their arms left, which are also disappearing as well. The designer could also have been implying that their health was going up in smoke.

The advertisement was set in a bistro; where young adults probably frequented, and the arms probably belonged to young ladies as they were free of wrinkles and are accessorised with jewelleries. I think that the designer also wanted to convey the message that young adults are not immune to the detrimental health consequences of smoking, as most people think that they will only get health problems when they are much more older.

Furthermore, I feel that the desaturated colours of the image was to enhance the negative mood of the message, as bistros usually have warm colours and lightings.

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