I've been seeing a lot of these new truth campaign commercials on TV lately, and honestly, they annoy me. I don't smoke cigarettes, either. Just the fact that the people who appear in this "hip" music video are so condescending and judgmental of people's personal choices.
"Those cigarettes are taking you from 10s to 2s," one of the guys in the music video says. Does a cigarette really make a person that drastically unattractive? I doubt it.
Sure, cigarettes might be a turnoff for most, but do they make a person uglier? Absolutely not.
This advertising campaign is nothing but an attempt to persuade impressionable teens to not smoke by using Tinder to relate to them. Their message, "Gotta swipe dat," is extremely degrading and is nothing more than a giant put down for those who choose to smoke. It's a personal choice, not a sin.
So the next time I see this annoying commercial, instead of swiping left on Tinder because of a cigarette, I will "change dat" channel.
I agree that it's degrading! It's nice to know that we're teaching people that it's okay to judge others so quickly. Although, the strategy that the advertising campaign uses to reach out to teens was pretty wise for what they were trying to accomplish. Smoking is bad, and I wouldn't advise anyone to start doing it. As a smoker, I've had people tell me to my face that I was unattractive or disgusting for doing it. But I think that you always have to keep in mind that everything you do, is your decision. Nobody likes to hear that what they decide to do is wrong, so why top it off with a little judgment?
ReplyDeleteI don't agree with it, a few years ago I dated someone who smoked, but I got used to it and helped her stop.
ReplyDeleteAt this point the message has to be dramatic. The industry needs to be stopped and people should realize by now how dangerous smoking is. Yes I agree you can choose to do what you want, but if insulting people will possibly save their own lives as well as others then why not?
ReplyDeleteI never really notice when my friends smoke cigarettes, it's kind of like something that is engrained in our culture now. No one fusses over it anymore and it's kind of scary that the efforts to stop it have lessened, at least from what I'm exposed to.
ReplyDeleteIt's an interesting take on getting young people to avoid smoking. I can understand where they're coming from trying to find a way to speak to the younger generation, but I can also see how it can become degrading to a certain extent.
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ReplyDeleteMy problem with this isn't the angle that they're taking against smoking, but that they're using Tinder as a way to relate to people. I sound like an old man, but Western morality is definitely becoming worse. To think that someone's opinion of another person can be boiled down to the phrase "swipe left" makes me sad.
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