I’m not a fan of cigarette ads in general. Coming from Canada, where advertising tobacco products is illegal, I find them obvious and odd. Even after almost seven years, I’m still not totally ok with their presece. But while I hate all cigarette ads, Marlboro’s 2012 campaigns are especially awful. They totally prey on insecurities. Now, I studied marketing, and understand that this is a common practice in advertising, but I also think some sort of ethics are in order and that using this kind of marketing for some products and target markets is wrong.

Specifically, these ads go through all the arguments people have for smoking. This one depicts something I’ve heard a lot- that asking for a light is a great way to meet guys/girls. If you quit, you might not meet that special someone, it implies. The one after New Years was worse though…I wish I got a pick. It had no photo. It simply said “Yes…No…Don’t be a Maybe”, clearly preying on people’s New Year resolutions to quit. Yuck!