Everybody knows, smoking kills. From Truth’s “hip” viral marketing campaigns to your Aunt Debby’s constant hacking, the fact that tobacco use kills more than 5 million people per year and is the cause of six of the world’s eight leading causes of death shouldn’t surprise anyone. And yet people keep smoking. For that reason, anti-smoking organizations continue pumping out some of the most vile, disgusting images on television. From singing cowboys to crying children, the shock-and-awe tactics of these “public service” ad campaigns can nauseate even the strongest stomachs.
Now we’re not saying smoking doesn’t cause horrible, life-crushing diseases or that people shouldn’t quit smoking right away to stave-off some of these wicked fates. We’re saying that these commercials are so hideously offensive, we’re not sure how they made it past the censors: Showing some woman with her f**king fingers falling off is somehow totally cool because it’s in an anti-smoking ad, but expose a woman’s breast on TV for any reason and you’ll be practically burned at the stake.
Not to mention the fact that you don’t see any other dangers in life being advertised against in this way. When was the last time you saw a commercial of doctors cutting open a hugely obese person and displaying their damaged innards on network TV? NEVER, that’s when. Because it’s disgustingly offensive. Sure, we’ve got to alert people to the dangers of smoking somehow. But these 5 commercials (and others like them) isn’t the way to do it. Either that, or there better start being some naked chicks on CBS, ASAP.
5. Separation - Anti-Smoking
4. You Don’t Always Die From Tobacco
3. Quitting is Hard Not Quitting is Harder
2. Smoker’s Aorta
1. Marie - Disabled
