Due to the commercial world we live in, advertising has become a less effective source. The audience is 'active', being more aware of the motives behind advertising (Livingstone, 1999, p.64).
Having interviewed a current smoker regarding the Everybody Knows campaign (see previous post), I came to realise that the commercial nature of anti-smoking campaigns can damage perceptions of companies such as Quit Victoria. Instead of being seen as helpful, such companies may be considered as profit-focussed or un-caring.
Another issue facing anti-smoking campaigns is that the audience is in control. By this I mean that the viewer can change the channel during the ad break. The interviewee said that the images of the campaign didn't phase them because they chose not to watch.
This means that there is a portion of the smoking population that the anti-smoking campaigns don't even reach!
References:
- Livingstone, S. 1999, 'New Media, New Audiences?' in New Media & Society, Vol.1, No.59, pp.59-66, Accessed 05/09/2010, http://nms.sagepub.com/
Showing posts with label everybody knows. Show all posts
Showing posts with label everybody knows. Show all posts
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Everybody Knows
So I thought I'd start off with my favourite Anti-Smoking Campaign - perhaps the inspiration to this blog.
Everybody knows the damage smoking causes, yet people continue to do it. Personally I like this campaign because it combines several previous campaigns. It lists all the different illnesses that are caused by smoking using the terms 'everybody knows' to accentuate the great amount that suffer from smoking addictions and illnesses (Cancer Institute NSW, 2010). It aims to motivate smokers to quit immediately (Mitchell, 2009, p.4).
On YouTube, the ad has generated a great response (47501 views for this particular clip). What I found interesting was that YouTube considered the campaign to be somewhat 'inappropriate' being flagged by YouTube users. Infact users are required to indicate whether they're over the age of 18.
This causes me to question the impact of the ad - shouldn't it be easily accessible due to the seriousness of the circumstances? 'Appropriateness' has been a significant issue with smoking campaigns. Images are considered 'graphic' and 'disturbing' which could in some ways harm non-smokers - e.g. children (Belch et al, 2009, p.84). One could argue that instead of 'harming' children, such ads inform and scare children away from smoking, resulting in a positive response. I, for one, would never touch a cigarette because I KNOW the damages it causes thanks to the ads.
Overall the campaign was 'successful' as it was able to increase quitting requests (Mitchell, 2009, p.6). Being displayed on television and the radio, it was able to successfully reach a wide audience (Mictchell, 2009, p.5).
How has it impacted you?
References:
- Belch, Belch, Kerr & Powell, 2009, Advertising and Promotion, McGraw-Hill Australia, Australia
- Cancer Insitute NSW, 2010, Everybody Knows Campaign, Accessed 29/08/2010, http://www.cancerinstitute.org.au/cancer_inst/campaigns/everybodyknows.html
- Mitchell, G. 2009, 'Everybody Knows', Campaign Report, pp. 1-13, Accessed 29/08/2010, http://www.quittas.org.au/files/everybodyknows/everybodyknows_campaign_report.pdf
Everybody knows the damage smoking causes, yet people continue to do it. Personally I like this campaign because it combines several previous campaigns. It lists all the different illnesses that are caused by smoking using the terms 'everybody knows' to accentuate the great amount that suffer from smoking addictions and illnesses (Cancer Institute NSW, 2010). It aims to motivate smokers to quit immediately (Mitchell, 2009, p.4).
On YouTube, the ad has generated a great response (47501 views for this particular clip). What I found interesting was that YouTube considered the campaign to be somewhat 'inappropriate' being flagged by YouTube users. Infact users are required to indicate whether they're over the age of 18.
This causes me to question the impact of the ad - shouldn't it be easily accessible due to the seriousness of the circumstances? 'Appropriateness' has been a significant issue with smoking campaigns. Images are considered 'graphic' and 'disturbing' which could in some ways harm non-smokers - e.g. children (Belch et al, 2009, p.84). One could argue that instead of 'harming' children, such ads inform and scare children away from smoking, resulting in a positive response. I, for one, would never touch a cigarette because I KNOW the damages it causes thanks to the ads.
Overall the campaign was 'successful' as it was able to increase quitting requests (Mitchell, 2009, p.6). Being displayed on television and the radio, it was able to successfully reach a wide audience (Mictchell, 2009, p.5).
How has it impacted you?
References:
- Belch, Belch, Kerr & Powell, 2009, Advertising and Promotion, McGraw-Hill Australia, Australia
- Cancer Insitute NSW, 2010, Everybody Knows Campaign, Accessed 29/08/2010, http://www.cancerinstitute.org.au/cancer_inst/campaigns/everybodyknows.html
- Mitchell, G. 2009, 'Everybody Knows', Campaign Report, pp. 1-13, Accessed 29/08/2010, http://www.quittas.org.au/files/everybodyknows/everybodyknows_campaign_report.pdf
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