Mad Men: The Smoking Pitch's vested interests.

      In the Thinking Skills class, we watched and analyzed a scene of the episode 'The Smoking Pitch', Mad Men. The setting is an office inside the Lucky Strike Company, in 1960's New York. Here, a couple of businessmen are having a discussion about advertising techniques.

      We realized that there were certain vested interests in this company; the product needs to be sold in order to keep the sales’ number up. That being said, it does not matter whether cigarettes are healthy or unhealthy. The main goal is selling, and for reaching it, the product needs to be attractive for the consumers.

      On the other hand, we noticed how Peter’s ideas are rejected while Don’s are accepted. The first man is rejected because he implies that cigs are dangerous, and that “if you are going to die, at least have fun in the middle”. For his colleagues, Peter's slogan sounds pretty morbid and off-puting. However, Don’s proposal emphasizes what distinguishes Lucky Strike’s from other brands –the toastiness. All in all, it can be said that Don adressed the company’s main aim; selling happiness.

     On a side note, I also analyzed an old tobacco advertisement.

     In this Chesterfield ad, it is noticeable how desperate to sell tobacco companies were. Not only did marketing asisstants came up with witty slogans such as ''Is best for you", but also they manipulated scientific evidence by financing medical research and hiring their own doctors. What seriously called my attention, is how the poster gloats on that Chesterfield's have "no adverse effects on the nose, throat and sinuses [...]" but fails to deny the product's carcinogenic risks, for example. Moreover, bright colours and happy faces misleaded people into believing that they were in presence of a harmless commodity. Once again, it is evident how the companies' vested interests in getting richer lead to the manipulation of information regarding their products' effects on peoples' health.