http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ERvuMxTWUk
This is a slideshow of Joe Camel ads found on youtube. Joe Camel was a character on a children television show advertising cigarettes to kids, even though you have to be 18 years old or older to buy cigarettes and smoke legally. One of the pictures even showed a little boy wearing a camel t-shirt while smoking a cigarette. The cigarette brand he was advertising was Camel cigarettes and a camel is still shown on the Camel cigarette boxes till this day. Some viewers who have commented on the slideshow said they believe Joe Camel was cool, they did not care if he was advertising cigarettes to kids, and think he should be brought back. On the other hand, a few viewers were against Joe Camel and smoking.
Do you think if kids were to see this slideshow they would want to smoke cigarettes? Why or why not? Do you believe Camel cigarettes should change their brandname and logo to something that does include a camel or any other animals? What is your opinion about the comments made on this video? Do you agree or disagree that Joe Camel should be brought back? If so, why
do you agree that he should come back?
I'm responding to Prompt 2: Agree to Disagree
ReplyDeleteMost of the commenters on this ad agree that they miss Joe Camel. They want to know what happened and why the television show was removed. The commenters also say that Joe Camel has or would have influenced adolescents to smoke. Many are also in agreement that the Camel resembles the rapper Jay-Z. One argument that sticks out is that some commenters compare Joe camel to Chester and Ronald McDonald saying that these characters influence children to eat unhealthy foods like Cheetos and burgers. They see no difference in having a cartoon character for adults and smoking which is another unhealthy habit. I agree with these commenters. While smoking is very deadly and unhealthy, so is eating unhealthy foods. Many people die from obesity as well as smoking. Also, both smoking and eating unhealthy are choices. People have a choice on whether to smoke or eat healthy. I do not think that Bringing Joe camel back will influence kids to smoke. Joe Camels is a cartoon and cartoons are not real. I find it hard to think that someone would be influenced by a cartoon character. On the other hand, I do not think Joe Camel should be brought back. He is an old cartoon and many old cartoons such as Chester and Ronald McDonald are rarely seen anymore.
My complicating view is that there is a difference between Ronald McDonald and Joe Camel. Most people agree that cartoons are targeted to young kids more so than adults. At McDonalds there are many unhealthy choices but parents can still buy healthy options for their kids. But smoking is different and there is no healthy option for smoking. So, why would they use cartoons to advertise to children if it is unhealthy?
Delete2. Agree to Disagree
ReplyDeleteThe main debate in the comments on youtube would be if Joe Camel was a bad influence on children. Most commenters seemed to love Joe Camel and wished he was still the icon for the camel smokes. However, a lot of the commenters who loved Joe Camel said if they had seen the show as a kid they would have started smoking at a young age. Some people find it funny that a little boy was smoking and others seem to just not care. I believe over all the comments display a desensitized community towards illegal smoking. Most people by now know of the hazards of smoking, either through D.A.R.E. or through the recent tv ads showing all the side effects of smoking cigarettes. There were very few comments that were actually negative to either smoking in general or children smoking.
I personally think if Camel changed the brandname that it would lose money because people know the brandname and might not catch the transition. Also, it sounds like there are a lot of supporters that remember Joe Camel and only said good things about the show. So the customers might not like if the star icon was removed. I do not see a harm in Joe Camel, the show would probably have a tv rating discouraging children from watching. There are so many other cartoon shows that show drugs, alcohol, smoking, and sex. Today parents can block shows from being viewed by their children. If I were working for Camel I would work to get the show back because it was so popular and would be another great advertisement, it would almost be like a reunion tour.
Complicating evidence I would add is what the show actually promotes. Yes there are other cartoons that show drugs, alcohol, smoking and sex, but Joe Camel actually promoted smoking, and how ok it was. I don't see why kids these day need influence like that. There are already plenty of commercials and advertisements that can influence children badly, why would adding in a cartoon that promotes bad habits be a good thing?
Delete7. the works
ReplyDeleteThe featured joe camel you tube videos seems to only upset the viewers of the ad but not for obvious reasons. A lot of the commenters on the video are saying they think that it is dumb the government banned Joe Camel. Comments include: camel cigs are not the same without him, joe camel is awesome let kids smoke if they want, they will with or without joe camel, joe camel was the coolest mascot ever, joe camel would make me smoke at 13, etc. Only one or two comments on the video are against smoking and how it is bad for us. Someone says if you need a mascot to continue smoking you are an imbecile. These comments show that Joe Camel does in fact have a lot of effect on peoples ideas and values. Of course there are people who like and dislike smoking no matter what, but these comments show how successful the Joe Camel ad. People really liked him and most wish he was still in advertising. People commenting on this video wish that something that promotes childhood smoking was still around. They like Joe Camel so much they do not even care if he is promoting something that could kill a person. Joe Camel seems to have a lot of effect on peoples ideas and values.
I think if kids these days saw the Joe Camel ad they wouldn't be as likely to smoke as they were before. I still think they would like joe Camel a lot but I think kids have more knowledge on how bad smoking is for you these days. I don't think camel cigarettes should change to a different animal, its just not necessary. I disagree with the comments on the blog. I don't think Joe Camel should be brought back, I am sure the government had plenty of reasons to get rid of it. It doesn't need to come back.
I am doing 7 the works. After reading through the comments, it is pretty obvious that many people had opinions about Joe Camel before they watched the video. One of the commenters was upset because the "government screwed it up" for them by banning Joe Camel. Many others talk about how "awesome" and "cool" Joe Camel was and how he was a great mascot. A few don't even care that young children might be smoking, and one actually encourages that younger kids should smoke cigarettes. However, there is only one commenter that is against this video. The person voices his displeasure with the video and Joe Camel in saying, “Joe Camel looked "cool", yes. But his appearance was way too appealing to kids and therefore was not an appropriate advertising gig to sell an adult product.” As one can see, this video does definitely have an effect on the viewers just by all of the emotion that it provokes from people. But with that being said, as I said before, it seems that most of the commenters already had their own ideas and opinions before they even watched the video, so one could argue that the video does not really do much of have an effect on the knowledge or values.
ReplyDeleteIn response to the questions, I personally believe that the video could have a small effect on whether kids would smoke or not. I say a small effect because Joe Camel does try to make smoking look cool, but the majority of kids probably already have their opinions on smoking. If kids were planning on smoking and watched the video, then chances are they will still plan on smoking. Also, kids that don’t want to smoke and already are against it probably still won’t want to smoke after watching the video. Personally as a non-smoker, I don’t think that Camel should be advertising towards kids or anyone under 18, but logo and brand wise, I don’t think it really matters what they do. They could bring Joe Camel back, but like I said before, Joe Camel might make things cool, but I don’t think it will have a very big effect on whether people smoke or not.
I am responding to prompt number 1: Looks Matter. In this slideshow they show various ads for Camel cigarettes with Joe Camel on them, and a few ads that are against smoking that also include the character Joe Camel. The creator of this slideshow also takes the time to put in a few facts in between the slides, explaining the history of the ads for Camel. All of the images of ads that are for Camel show the character Joe Camel doing something that to most would be perceived as "cool". In the ads Joe Camel is doing things like sitting on a beach, riding a motorcycle, sailing, or he is at a casino or portrayed as the members of some band, and in one ad there is a very attractive woman in the background. These ads make Joe Camel seem like a "cool" character, and since he is always smoking in every ad it makes smoking seem "cool" too. This makes smoking very appealing to the audience, especially the younger crowd who wishes to be "cool". The creator of this slideshow simply places facts about the ads in between, such as the fact that the ads were created in 1988 or that the company started using Joe Camel to appeal to a younger crowd, etc. The creator does not seem to endorse these ads or criticize them. He is simply telling viewers what they are about. These clips with the facts are very short and plain, so the viewer pays more attention to the actual Camel ads. This may make it seem like the creator really does want to bring back Joe Camel and get viewers to interested in him again. But then the author shows a clip of a very young boy with a Camel t-shirt and smoking a cigarette and then continues to show ads against Camel such as the one that refers to Joe Camel as "Joe Chemo". After the clip with the boy the author states that the ads were obviously a success, and this image lasts a few second longer than the previous ones where the author just stated facts. This may make the viewer realize that this is the part he or she wants to emphasize the most. The ads against Camel and the little kid smoking are what the creator really wants the viewers to focus on. Based on this evidence from the video the author seems to imply that although Joe Camel seems to be a "cool" character, he or she does not approve of the ads, and that it is wrong to direct ads for smoking towards a younger audience.
ReplyDeleteI chose to respond with prompt number 6, stake your claim. Throughout the conversation that took place this week, a numerous amount of unusual ideas were brought up. One of the ideas in particular brought up a few other examples of how unhealthy habits are implanted towards adolescents, some namely being Ronald McDonald or Chester Cheetos. The main topic of discussion was whether or not adolescents would be influenced by such a commercial and if it should be brought back on the air. Some bring up the idealized children who know about D.A.R.E. which would certainly help them in their in remaining immune towards the commercial’s influence. That cited source would most certainly say that such a commercial is a controversial topic of debate. A few people brought up possible solutions towards an unfavorable commercial.
ReplyDeleteOne such solution was the possibility of blocking said channel, however the viewers of shows should not be forced to watch other channels if the commercials are merely the problems. A good amount of debate was brought up, as some thought it wasn’t right to get rid of a commercial, whereas others thought there was no point in having the commercial come back if it brought only harm towards society. The author builds upon the original claim stating that the commercial was intended towards younger people even though the tobacco age in America is clearly 18. In various ways this topic was an intense debate over freedom of speech and morals.