Old Salem Cigarette Commercial

By: Morgan, Audrey, Sam, and Cale



     In class on Tuesday we watched an interview with Harry Frankfurt about his essay "On Bullshit". Frankfurt explained that bullshitters aren’t liars, they just have a blatant disregard for the truth, which can be dangerous. We found an example of bullshit in an old cigarette commercial on YouTube. The commercial makes smoking seem like a healthy and fun activity.

     The commercial shows the characters outside on a rope swing with a woman smoking a cigarette. In the background you hear happy, upbeat music. The commercial goes on to claim that the cigarette will freshen your breath with menthol. Also, that the cigarette is made out of a special paper that pulls in fresh air to soften the taste.

     We find this commercial to be bullshit because of the way it portrays smoking, and because of the advertisements less likely to be noticed. For instance, there is only a woman smoking, so the ad focuses more on women than men. The claim that the cigarette will freshen your breath, and that it draws in fresh air. All of the claims and subliminal advertising are bullshit.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86lYG1V2-n4