Winston Advertisement Reflection

Sight:
Rocks and dirt in the background and the car Fred Flinstone is driving looks like an episode of the Flinstones that takes place in Bedrock. There is a close-up of a sign that says "Welcome to Bedrock." If there was any doubt that this commercial aims to emulate a Flinstones episode, the sign put them to rest. There is a close-up of Fred Flinstone's hand reaching for a cigarette from a box labeled "Winston." The only two close-ups in the commercial are of the sign and the cigarettes, unmistakably linking smoking cigarettes with the Flinstones, a children's cartoon show.

In the last commercial, Fred and Thelma are smoking together. The commercial begins with a close-up on both characters'  hands as they reach into the Winston box for a cigarette. Then the shot pans out to reveal the happy couple looking relaxed as they smoke their cigarettes.

Sound:
The song throughout the advertisements is the first thing I noticed hearing because it is the theme music for the Flinstones show. This is yet another aspect of the commercial that would catch a child's attention.

The narrator's voice sounds friendly and cartoon-like.

Motion:
Fred Flinstone is running normal, every-day errands like picking up the dry-cleaning and a newspaper (The Daily Slate). It seems like Fred is rushing through the errands trying to get home. For example, he is speeding past all of the other cars on the road and he runs up the dinosaurs back to pick up the clothing. This makes the audience wonder why he is rushing home. This question is answered when Fred gets home and reaches down to retrieve a Winston cigarette.

I also thought it was interesting that in the second commercial it seemed like the gender roles were reversed. The women were doing all the work (mowing the lawn, etc.) and the men were relaxing and smoking a cigarette. In the end of the commercial, the women throw the yard equipment at the men.

My Opinions:
When I watched the ads, I felt like I was watching a children's cartoon, not an advertisement for a life-threatening product. Even the music would catch a child's attention because it sounds like a cartoon theme song. Also, the narrator' tone of voice sounds to me like he is telling a children's story. I think it is unacceptable to target an ad campaign for cigarettes to children. The ad reminded me of restrictions placed on Camel's brand image and ad campaigns. Camel used to use the image of a cartoon camel until the FCC prohibited this logo reasoning that the cartoon appealed too much to children.

I also think the ad is irresponsible because of the concept of image transfer. Often, companies will choose a celebrity or public figure to endorse a product. Image transfer is when people see a celebrity they admire endorsing a product and think that if they buy that product, some of the celebrity's image will transfer onto them. The Flinstones are characters that children, not adults, look up to. If we apply the concept of image transfer to these ads, it is reasonable to conclude that children are the targeted publics of these ads, not adults.

Roommates' Reactions:
I showed these ads to my three roommates and they all had similar reactions. While watching the Flinstones smoke cigarettes, Betsy's eyebrows raised as she blurted out, "This is ridiculous! This cigarette ad completely appeals to children." My two other roommates, Danielle and Carrie, added to the discussion by pointing out that the ads seem to emphasize traditional views that justified smoking. They also sensed a hint of sexism in the ads, as it was mostly the men who were smoking. Lastly, they thought there seemed to be an element of glamour in the ads.

Parent's Familiarity with the Advertisements:
When I asked my mother to finish the slogan, "Winston tastes good...", she remembered the slogan but it to her a minute to come up with the rest of the phrase. Finally, she responded, "like it should." Although it isn't the exact slogan, I thought that for a non-smoker, remembering even that much was impressive. She also remembered that the slogan was used in a cigarette ad, but she didn't remember anything about the commercials.

When recited the beginning of the slogan to my father, he immediately replied, "like a cigarette should." I was even more impressed with his memory of the ad campaign phrase. However, like my mother, my father didn't remember anything about the actual commercial. Even mentioning the Flinstones involvement in the ad didn't spark any distant memories.