Smoking Advertisements

This is an spoof of Joe Camel, the mascot of Camel cigarettes in the late 1980's to the late 1990's. Joe Camel was depicted as a smooth, confident character who was always smoking a Camel cigarette. The image above is labeled Joe Chemo. Joe has obviously become a cancer patient. He has removed his shades, lost his hair, and appears to be sad and full of regret. The parody of the Surgeon General Warning claims that if you smoke, your life will be wasted, and you'll regret it later. Showing Joe, who was once a pretty cool mascot, as a cancer patient appears to be an effective means of anti-smoking advertisement. Joe is effectively drawn as a weak person who has never appeared that way before, and reminds the viewer that smoking could cause this to happen to them as well.

Visual Rhetoric

This Smokey the Bear image is another reminder that, "Only you can prevent forest fires!". The most important message of this image is that the preservation of nature is human responsibility. However, I feel like this "reminder" is a little too intense. It accuses the viewer of not doing enough about the environment. The caption at the top, "This Shameful Waste Weakens America!", in my opinion, is a little much. This is a pretty scary image if you look closely. In the background, there is a destroyed forest engulfed in flames. There is a bear holding a dying baby deer. There is another bear praying for the deer. Smokey is pointing to the carnage, and glaring at the viewer, indicating that the viewer is responsible for this. The image is captioned with, "Remember-Only you can PREVENT THE MADNESS!". The intent of this depiction is clear; humans are ultimately responsible for the protection and preservation of the forests, and the things which depend on them. However, in my opinion, it's over the top, scary, and way too intense.