Comparing Two Advertisements In The 1940's

Advertisements today control much of how people go about their days. Without a well-presented advertisement, products would not sell. An advertisement can create controversy if presented in a way that offends a group which will result in no sell to the product offered. However, when advertisements are shown correctly, even with the most harmful products like cigarettes, proven to cause lung cancer, can sell. Moreover, each advertisement brings along a different opinion which usually provides the opportunity for a counter-argument from various groups that would demote a product to promote another or to give awareness for a dangerous product. The two advertisement that will be discussed provide different viewpoints from different interest parties.

However, in the 1940’s, the same technology available today was not present to show people the dangers of smoking. In turn, smoking was a relatively popular habit that many celebrities and people indulged in. Advertisements such as the advertisement for Viceroys shows how welcoming the community was to smoking, with the color and simplicity of the ad. The ad even shows a dentist recommending the benefits of smoking with Viceroys. The colorfulness and safety of this brand are meant to draw in a sceptical audience of smokers, by mentioning that Viceroys filters the smoke as to place itself above the other cigarette brands who do not have the same safeties. The ad does a good job at presenting its product as safe and reliable, through the use of logos, with the utilization of the dentist recommending the brand making it the logical choice to buy, and ethos, with the product filtering smoke making it healthier for you to use thus the ethical

However, for an advertisement to attract an audience it must provide an incentive to focus on the information submitted; the advertisement must present itself in a way to make its audience focus on what matters by using vibrant images and simple phrasing. While both advertisements serve their purpose, when comparing one to the other, the advertisement would be able to persuade the audience supporting Viceroys to have a possible change in opinion. Although the Viceroys advertisement shows facts and statistics with the dentist recommending the brand and the use of filters for a “healthier” smoke, the counter advertisement against smoking serves to convey a stronger message. This advertisement does not show bias to any brand or and extra material the cigarettes contain to make smoking one brand over another; this advertisement simply states through a series of burning cigarettes the more you smoke the closer you are to