By Malay Desai
From: USA
In the latest spot from the independent American non-profit agency, two teens are seen entering an amusement park, buying tickets for a rollercoaster ride. It’s a dark, spooky environment, with attendants smoking and offering everyone cigarettes, apart from giving sinister smiles. The girl of the duo hesitates just before the coaster begins, but is too late. As the terrifying ride ends, they find out they cannot get out of it. The voiceover gives stats on smokers in the state and the spot ends with the campaign website mention.
Why we like
We interrupt your X’mas-y reading for this announcement. It has been noticed of late that our film authorities have made it mandatory for a written warning to stick out like a sore John Abraham on the screen whenever a character is shown smoking. We object to this truly retarded idea, especially when films such as these can be made. According to the campaign site which this spot ends with, the American state of Minnesota has 77,000 school students who are tobacco users, a number miniscule when compared to that of our states such as Maharashtra or UP. The film here is only the latest in a series that has caught attention of late, and the evil-looking ticket vendor here has been earlier shown as a gravedigger.
You may recall several ‘hall of fame’ ads when it comes to non-profits campaigning against tobacco, but given the context, this spot scores superbly. The metaphor of ‘smoking being a never-ending roller coaster’ seems like a print idea, but has been adapted to the screen stunningly. The location (the popular wooden coaster ‘Thunderbolt’ in Pennsylvania) has been shot at night, and although the SFX are minimal, the light used provides the chills. We like the props in the execution of this concept, from the ticket booth called ‘your life’ to the gaudily dressed, cigarette-offering girls and the ‘point of no return’ sign as the ride begins. Talking to underage persons requires clarity in messaging; more if they happen to be Americans. There is an expected voiceover mouthing numbers as the coaster progresses, and we’d have preffered text on screen.
To ‘scare’ is to educate and warn, and globally, lobbies use this approach with varying results. Not many do it this effectively though, without the usage of gory visuals. This film sure has lesser chances of meeting the ‘yeah, whatever!’ reaction.
Back home, 10-lakh plus people die annually due to tobacco, half of those being illiterate. Ditch the film warnings, oh censors, go to any urban college and even the kids there could make more impactful ads.
Watch the spot on Goo.gl/0ULfE
