Smoking is very Glamorous Essay Example

Smoking is very Glamorous Essay Example Smoking is very Glamorous Paper Smoking is very Glamorous Paper A Poster is as defined in the Oxford dictionary a placard posted or displayed in a public place as an announcement or advertisement. The aim of a poster is to sell a product, or to get a point of view across to a large target audience. The posters produced usually fall into 3 main genres, informative, Political and commercial purposes.  Posters usually can make a huge impact on its audience by grabbing attention through laughter, protest or questions. To achieve a maximum target audience they are placed in public areas e.g. very busy roads and streets on billboards, on the public transport system London Underground, Buses, trains, cinemas, factories, shops and shopping areas. Over the years posters have had to evolve the designs and the vocabulary. Also they have had to take into consideration the current environmental and social issues that are particularly sensitive. A very good example of this is the old Bovril advert where a bull is looking into a jar of Bovril mourning the loss of his brother. For now that would appear distasteful to vegetarians and those concerned with animal rights and animal welfare. Bovril is still advertised but in a far more appropriate manner. Modern posters have not only evolved with social and environmental issues but also in their designs graphically and imagery. This is due too much more advanced technology for print, photography, 3d, rotation and lightening.  Fig 1 Fig 2  Poster 1  Smoking is very Glamorous  This is one of a series of posters produced in USA by the American Cancer Society, which stresses the consequences of smoking. This poster (fig 2) has a picture of a person I use the term a person, as it is very difficult to identify whether it is a male or female, this person is possibly elderly and has large bags under their eyes and is very wrinkled. They are portraying an ugly, dirty person who has smoked all their life. In their hand is a cigarette, which they are taking a long hard drag on. This image is depicting a very dirty image, which according to the wording is meant to be glamorous. I feel that this is implying that smoking is a disgusting and dirty habit. The wording underneath is written to be sarcastic saying smoking is very glamorous it is using a play on the words as from this picture you actually get a completely different message you can clearly see that smoking is not at all glamorous. This poster is very effective as you read the words first because they really stand out and then the image hits you and makes you really think, it is quite a depressing image, subtly displaying the effects of ageing and ill health all consequences of long term smoking. It certainly has the capabilities of making an impact and grabbing the target audiences attention. It has created the image from the originator to the recipient that it is not really as glamorous as some people have said and that it can kill you. Since the age of Jazz, Hollywood portrayed the image of smoking as the thing to do to look glamorous as can be seen in the advert in fig 1, so when this advert appeared in the 1970s it contradicted that image with huge effect. Poster 2  This drink has been rated for mature audiences only  Fig 3  I have chosen this poster to look at as it is on the other side of Health issues and that is promoting alcohol. Promoting alcohol is a very sensitive subject as people are much more health consious and concerned about health issues and like cigaretttes alcohol is an addictive drug the root of all evil. Here (fig3) this is the Dewars Scotch advert for the drink Absolute Vodka. You can see an attractive women on the top holding a tray with glasses of drink probably vodka on it clearly happy and enjoying her self. Underneath her is a bottle of the vodka tighly secure in a chain, padlock and key with the words This drink has been rated for mature audiences only. At first sight this advert is giving the message to the recipient to discourage them from under age drinking. I feel that the alcohol industry does not want the under age to drink but it does want to promote a positive attitude towards drink before they start drinking. This advert is I feel one of those from the originator aimed at those adolescents who are anxious to enter into adult life by almost encouraging them with the words This drink has been rated for mature audiences only As stated in the Advertising Age product image is probably the most important element in selling liquor Dewars Scotch ran this advert as part of its successful long running campaign for Absolut vodka managing to create that image. As you can see in the poster it focuses on the shape of the bottle and the word Absolut I think they are trying to promate it as absolut perfection hence why the bottle is set in a halo. What the chains symbolise I am not sure but I do feel if that you are a problem drinker you will be chained to that bottle. I do feel that this advert is aimed at the image, and making that image of drinking sexy. I do feel that this is not good for the future of our generation the children and adolescents. Cigarettes have to carry a Government Health warning and are limited to where and how the adverts are displayed and I do feel that alcohol should be treated the same, rather than promted as sexy like the cigarettes were up to world war two.