The trick of inciting fear through a poster ad:
In this ad, the poster is showing an individual doing vape tricks with the smoke he exhaled, along with a quote. The quote reads: “It makes me look cool”. Also including a small paragraph on the left side on the risks of using an e-cigarette at a young age. It seems to be intended to put fear into the audience that this would appeal to, but who really pays attention to it and how effective is this type of ad?
From a simple view, this ad looks like it is intended for teenagers, to throw in a sense of fear into them, to stay away from vaping. In reality, this can be targeted against a social norm for high schoolers and college kids altogether. In the last half decade or so, e-cigarettes have become popular among kids, because of the push towards tasty flavors instead of the terrible tobacco in cigarettes. The opportunity is there for business, but it was pushed out into a weak market with an even weaker enforcement. In most states around 2010, it was sold on shelves like any other product, not needing age verification of any sort to purchase. After about a year or two (2012), local, state and federal governments barged in and marked these products as tobacco products, regardless of the presence of nicotine or not, due to it being used as an alternative to tobacco smokers. Even up until 2016, police had trouble confiscating vapes from teenagers, due to them needing to prove that there was nicotine in the fluids of the vape.
This is where we have come to. Not too long ago, the feds banned the advertising of cigarette products, and started a type of campaign called “The Real Cost”. Originally, this was meant for cigarettes, but as the 21st century progressed, it was moved to push against vaping, and the risk of nicotine addiction in teens and young adults. For some, vaping was meant as a method to fit in with a growing social norm, but for some, it had become an issue for their day to day life, not being able to function without it (to an extent). The ad did its job for a lot of individuals, even pushing some towns and counties (most notably, New York City about a week or two ago) to ban flavored e-cigarettes, excluding menthol and tobacco flavors.
I personally think that the ad has its pros and cons, for those making the ad they would find a lot of cons, but for a ecig user (not me lol), it isn’t a very convincing ad, because of the simple fact that words don’t convey the same as an image. If the ad agency showed a young teen in the hospital over a vape related illness (like the news has for the past month, therefore pushing Michigan and NYC to enforce a ban), the message would be saving you from a danger. I don’t think most people realize the simple fact that kids don’t know that it isn’t a “safe alternative”. It is a “safer” alternative compared to cigarettes, undeniably (tar residue vs food oil and flavoring), but by no means is it 100% safe. Yes, you won’t smell bad and cough up some dirty shit, but your lungs weren’t made to inhale vegetable glycerin, pg (propelyne glycol I believe) and food flavorings. The ad can be revised to present a higher danger that is currently present, but this specific one won’t convey a strong message versus those that show an image.
In conclusion, yes, this ad does target teens and young adults with the intent to scare them, but it isn’t as effective as it is thought to be. It can definitely be improved in multiple ways, but for the time being, it’ll stay this way.