Growing up an Americanized Canadian I've been exposed to ads from the beer and tobacco industry my entire life. It's really a shame it's all just hit me now, it has a thousand times before but it all makes sense why targeting to the young really does work, and at the end of the day it's fucked!
Tobacco:
It's quite reasonable that in today's society to find smoking disgusting, it's dirty, it smells, people probably look down on me as low class, but it's cool ain't it?! It must be right, why else would I do it?! I mean it feels good, it tastes good, or is it literally all smoke and mirrors deceiving me courtesy of big tobacco. Honestly it's bad, but I've always thought that smoking has looked cool, how though? This seriously needs to be analyzed.
Joe Camel cool! |
Growing up in Windsor, an Americanized Canadian I've been exposed to tobacco my entire life, people used to smoke in restaurant and still do in Detroit, it was only just until a couple years ago that stopped in Canada. As a young boy who read my parents Sports Illustrated and Rolling Stone, I saw tons of tobacco ads, if athletes and musicians dug it must be cool right? Big tobacco may be paying now but they won me over, Newport always had fun couples in riding snow mobiles and hugging, Marlboro had the alpha male, and Joe Camel was just too cool for school...they had me hooked before I knew it...a victim of advertisers. I guess it's not my fault and even if I kick it smoking will always seem cool in the back of my mind.
Booze:
Beer goggles or reality? |
All in all this isn't my best blog as it's just observations but it just goes to show how two major dealers of death can capture a young mind and influence it forever. I would never promote prohibition either substance as I feel as free citizens we should be able to beat our bodies with what we please, but it just goes to show advertising works. As cynical as I am to big whatever I am a victim as much as anyone as a much as I try to bash the Wal-Mart's of the world, I am just as much as a sellout and a victim to the man as everyone else even if unwilling...It's really all just a means to an end anyways.
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