The image above is from an anti-smoking advertisement by Chilean Corporation Against Cancer (CONAC). In the image, a child is seen crying while a cloud of smoke surrounds the head of the child. This cloud of smoke not only encompasses the child's head, but seems to resemble a plastic bag covering the head. In addition, the child inhales the smoke through his nose and mouth.
The purpose of this advertisement is to inform society about the dangers of smoking. Although smoking can negatively affect the individual that is smoking cigarettes, it can also affect those around that individual through second-hand smoke. The way the advertisement portrays the child being suffocated in a sort of smokey-plastic-bag is terrifying for most people. The media reveals ideas and concepts in ways that could possibly terrify society because of either the fact that the images are very explicit or that the situation could be real.
Nothing can horrify people than something that can actually be turned into reality. For example, if a person watches an advertisement where cartoon characters promote the products of McDonald's, that person might just ignore the entire message because of the fact that the advertisement is shown through cartoons. However, if a person watches an advertisement that depicts an individual being beaten due to certain clothes he/she is wearing, that person might focus on the idea of not buying specific clothing brands because of the fear of being beaten. Through the media, this fear that people have, whether it is the fear of dying, the fear of losing, etc., is influencing people to act differently from what they normally do.
Back to the anti-smoking advertisement with the child, the company that sponsors this advertisement, CONAC, wants to reveal the truth about tobacco in cigarettes. This truth is that tobacco causes cancer, which is something mostly everyone knows about. However, this company will do anything in its power to reduce the amount of people smoking cigarettes, such as promoting a horrifying advertisement of a child being suffocated by a cloud of smoke.
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