Semiotics

The Department of Health anti-smoking campaign produced by Miles Calcraft Briginshaw Duffy was one of the UK’s most controversial advert campaigns in 2007. The ‘NHS Get Unhooked’ adverts show a graphic image of a man with a fishhook through his cheek to illustrate his addiction. The adverts carry the slogan ‘The average smoker needs over five thousand cigarettes a year’ and give a helpline number. The adverts were released to coincide with New Year’s resolutions, which would have encouraged more smokers to attempt to quit.

The high-impact adverts just include an image and text. The first image of the smoker is central in the frame and the slogan is positioned at the bottom. The second is of a cigarette in a syringe. Two logos appear on the adverts, the NHS logo and the SMOKE FREE logo, this confirms that the NHS and SMOKEFREE services support the ad and therefore provides support for those wanting to give up smoking. The images together with the text are the signifier as it denotes 'giving up smoking'. The logos are small so they don’t attract attention away from the main image. The slogan is highlighted with a blue colour, which contrasts from the white background. Blue and white are the focal colour’s in the advertisements. Blue is a practical colour to use in this campaign as blue is often associated with health, depth and stability and considered beneficial to the mind and body this can subtly influence the viewer to give up smoking as the blue indicates health and smoking is putting their health at risk. Blue can also signify importance and intelligence, which suggests to the viewer that the advert is right and conveys the idea of ‘the expert’, a professional opinion. In a similar way the colour white is used well in this advert to begin with it is used as a background colour, which doesn’t attract attention away from the foreground imagery and text. In addition the colour white suggests cleanliness and purification, which could imply that to give up the addiction of smoking will clean and purify your body and mind.

The first ad show smokers with pained expressions, the pain signifies, and therefore connotes the long-term effects of addiction, and a taut wire pulling on hooks embedded above their lips. The advert uses the idea of being hooked on a tobacco addiction. A barbed fishhook is used to catch the smoker. The hook is attached at the mouth this associates with the location of the cigarette when smoking. The ads imply that cigarettes are the bait and the smoker addicted to the cigarettes has been caught. This concept compares with that of quitting; it will take time and motivation to give up smoking it will not just happen over night. The appearance of the smoker in the advert reflects on the reality of the effects of smoking. Smoking damages the eyes, skin, gums and teeth and this is present in the graphic image. The eyes are slightly bloodshot, the skin is pale and the gums look painful. The model in the advert looks like a stereotypical smoker because of his facial appearance.

The second image shows a cigarette as a syringe signifying how addictive it is and, like heroin, it is a drug. The two images in comparison are very strong, effective and memorable. Although this anti-smoking campaign was banned by the Authority Standards Association (ASA) because of too many complaints, “the complaints suggested the ads were offensive and frightening to children”