Blog 7: Advertising, Consumer Cultures, and Desire

In the “Joe Chemo Bed” cigarette anti-ad, the main argument is that in reality, smoking will not make one cool, as stereotypically portrayed by the sunglasses wearing camel, but un-cool and hospital ridden, having to undergo chemotherapy. The obvious difference in strategies between this advertisement and a real Camel Cigarettes ad is how they attempt to make the view feel about themselves. As described in “Advertising, Consumer Cultures, and Desire,” real ads attempt to make one feel uncomfortable with themselves or something they are involved in order to prove that they need to buy whatever product is being advertised. In a real ad for cigarettes, this technique would attempt to show that the viewer needs cigarettes to be cool. The fake ad uses this same strategy of trying to get the viewer to feel a high emotional level, but in this case it is a an uncomfortable feeling, showing the reality of the product in order to get them not to buy it. Instead of proving that the viewer needs the product to be cool, it shows the opposite; that he or she needs to avoid it to be cool. Aesthetically speaking, another main difference in the real and fake ads is the art. Instead of the usual “cool” character with bright colors, the anti-ad features a sad, introspective looking character surrounded by light, dull colors. This also further adds to the case against cigarettes.