You may have heard of Marlboro Country. The Marlboro Man. Ever heard of the Marlboro Horse ?
Presenting two of the best anti-smoking ads I have ever seen. No scary skeletons, no threats of cancer….. pure subtle humour. But effective, stopping one dead in one’s tracks.
1. created by O&M (Piyush Pandey?) for the Cancer Patients Association of India. It shows a horse lying dead, brown barren countryside in the background. The horse-rider (the Marlboro man, Texas hat, cowboy boots and jacket intact) with his hand on his head.
The caption says, Second hand smoke kills…..
It turns the oh-so-macho imagery of Marlboro Country on its head. Move over, Leo Burnett, who created what is arguably one of the most powerful advertising images of all times.
2. Don’t know who created the ad. I saw it on MTV a while ago. A girl is driving down a wide open road, as she sees a young man thumbing a ride. She whizzes past without a second look. As she drives ahead, she sees another young man hitching, this time with a cigarette in his mouth. She drives past, and then reverses as she sees the man in the rear view mirror, and gives him a lift.
The line says : Smoking causes impotence.
I was awe-struck by the sheer force of this ad. If you see this ad, and still smoke, you must be one brave man indeed. Read this for more on smoking….