Natasha Mazzitelli November 4, 2014
210990570
MODR1730
Prof. Stefan Rodde
Assignment #1: Standardization and Cogency
“Every Cigarette is Doing You Damage” - Cogent
Summary
1. This ad, aired by the National Tobacco Campaign of Australia that launched in 1997, is one of many aimed primarily at assisting smokers aged 18-40 years to quit smoking. It begins with a mother (who appears to be in her early or mid-30s) exiting her home to light up a smoke, her two children left playing together in the house behind her. As she lights the smoke, the camera dramatically zooms into the flame and embers, emphasizing the sound of the burning elements. A deep and serious-sounding male voiceover states, “Every cigarette is doing you damage.” The camera then follows the smoke down the woman’s throat as she inhales.
2. The voiceover continues, “Smoking creates blood clots which can cause strokes,” as a surgeon begins slicing a human brain in half on a cold, silver surgery table. “Some strokes kill, blind, or paralyze; others you don’t even know you’re having.” Hauntingly eerie background music begins to play.
3. The surgeon pulls the two halves of the brain apart, revealing a gory wound in the upper center of the brain that begins pouring blood. The voiceover explains, “This is the result of a minor stroke in a smoker aged 38.” The blood clot/bleeding is centered upon and emphasized.
4. The voiceover repeats, “Every cigarette is doing you damage,” as the camera reverses backwards out of the woman’s esophagus. She turns for a quick moment to glance at her children yelling in the background, and then returns to puffing her cigarette.
5. The advertisement ends displaying the “Every cigarette is doing you damage” tagline in smoky lettering, followed by “Quit 131 848”, “The National Tobacco Campaign”, and their website link and sponsor information.
Noise
An obvious flag in this commercial is the individual smoker it is centered upon. Having her children visible and playing in the background, the commercial implies that the woman is a housewife of two children, a girl and a boy. She is somewhere between 30 and 40 years old. People that partake in risky behaviour are often victims of optimism bias, or unrealistic optimism. This is a psychological mindset in which the individual underestimates the risk at hand, or overestimates his or her control of a situation, often thinking, “It will never happen to me.” The placement of a typical, likely stressed-out housewife character in this situation makes her relatable to the average person in a common role and implies that the average person could end up in this situation, therefore challenging the optimism bias of the audience. The commercial also uses scary-sounding music coupled with gory imagery to instill a sense of fear in its audience. Surgery is a frightening event most people would hope to avoid in their lifetime, and the commercial uses this to its advantage. The intimidating surgeon character is suited up in a mask, gloves, and goggles, and is focused on slicing a human brain in half using a very large, sharp blade. The brain bleeds out onto a cold, hard, silver surface. This all gives a very chilling feeling to the ad, equating it with a gory horror film or slasher flick. Finally, the camera is utilized to zoom in on influential aspects of each scene, such as the burning flame and embers of the lighter and smoke. Fire is generally a recognizable symbol of danger, destruction, or hell. There is also a repetition of the tagline, “Every cigarette is doing you damage.”
Argument
P1. Every cigarette you smoke is doing you damage.
P2. Smoking cigarettes creates blood clots, which can cause strokes.
P3. Some strokes kill, blind, or paralyze, while others you do not even realize you are having.
C4. You should quit smoking cigarettes. (1,2 – convergent, 2,3 – linked)
Justification for C4: Although it is not explicitly stated, the argument outlines the dangers of smoking, the
