Quit smoking ad-Is it OK to scare the crap out of a child?
Watch the ad, then the interview here: http://blogs.suntimes.com/shinyobjects/ ... o-far.html Well, whataya think? |
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| You should see the other Anti Smoking ads here as well. The one you featured is sedate but does pull at the heart strings with the little man. So might make more of an impact then what we normally see. There grusome the others, do they work probably not as they have been flooding TV here for years and years so I think a lot of people become immune to them.
Everything from lungs cut open from a dead smoker and all the black gooey tar being squeezed out to an Aorta Valve with gunk being squeezed out of that to a bloke with chronic emphasemia (sp) and struggling with every breath and a photo of his damaged lungs too. The latest a woman with a camera thing going down her throat to reveal a cancer in the lungs and her breathing with a weeze and the ad saying by the time these cancers are detected it is already too late. I dont know if they work or not but people do become blasei about them. Bit like our Drink/Driving ads here to with all the blood and gore as well it seems to be people are immune to that horror also as they have been flodding tv here for a long time also. So maybe the Anti-smoking message might have more of an impact using a child to tug at peoples heart strings.  |
| I grew up with a family of smokers but don't smoke myself, nor do any of my kids. No lecturing involved, it just turned out that way. Both my parent died from smoking, within 12 months of each other when I was 16, but yet, these ads make no difference to me what so ever. I think smoking is like any other vice, if you are going to do it, you will. (draught)It was more the way the interview went. He kept on badgering her and she kept on saying the facts. In Aust we have sooooo many annoying things in place for everything. Child welfare was present at the filming, they said it took one take and mum and son were laughing about how alex can pull the tears when he wants something from his dad. I think the interviewer had other issues that were bothering him. Like was said, If you want to diet, watch some of the ads that are run here! You will never eat again, they play them at lunch and dinner time. (child welfare sticks their nose in everything in this country, It was once said, they are like pit bulls, once the get a whiff, they never let go). |
| I was sad from the commercial, but then I was angry with the adults involved after seeing the interview. I don't care if the kid could pull up tears to get things from his parents, that is irrelevant. He wasn't acting here, he was admittedly terrified and crying because of the position he was purposely put in by adults. Would ya be OK with it if the child was all strapped into safety gear, told he was going to stand on the edge of a building, then unexpectedly pushed off and left to dangle there by his ankle for "only 5 minutes"?
What's the difference? Now I think the child won't be permanently damaged by the event, any more than when any child gets lost in a store, but why would any parent subject their child to that trauma? For a few dollars? I think you were seeing alot of the "American Sensibilities" from Matt Lauer. We're do-gooder pansies.  |
| IMHO ... NO ... |
| Short and sweet comment--- I don't like this - ONE BIT. |
| For some reason, it didn't bother me. Kids cry all the time, and I know it's not right to purposely make a kid cry, but if it helps send the message to people about smoking that might stop some people, I don't think it's bad. It sounds like it was a very controlled environment that the ad was shot it--it's not like they let him loose in Grand Central Station and he really got lost.
I don't know. To me, it didn't seem worth all the fuss. |
honestly, it didn't bother me either.  
would be different if the kid was really being left. i was expecting something horrific i guess... |
I haven't seent eh video (blocked here) but I went to Catholic school - of course it's okay to use fear as a training tool  |
barney1 wrote: For some reason, it didn't bother me. Kids cry all the time, and I know it's not right to purposely make a kid cry, but if it helps send the message to people about smoking that might stop some people, I don't think it's bad. It sounds like it was a very controlled environment that the ad was shot it--it's not like they let him loose in Grand Central Station and he really got lost.
I don't know. To me, it didn't seem worth all the fuss. I agree. Five seconds of tears won't scar the kid for life but maybe it'll help people think twice about smoking (or even keeping track of their kid in public places!). I often feel like people treat kids as way more fragile than they really are. I also think all the handling with kid gloves and coddling that people do with their kids these days is going to be the downfall of future society. |
ButtersStotch wrote: barney1 wrote: For some reason, it didn't bother me. Kids cry all the time, and I know it's not right to purposely make a kid cry, but if it helps send the message to people about smoking that might stop some people, I don't think it's bad. It sounds like it was a very controlled environment that the ad was shot it--it's not like they let him loose in Grand Central Station and he really got lost. I don't know. To me, it didn't seem worth all the fuss. I agree. Five seconds of tears won't scar the kid for life but maybe it'll help people think twice about smoking (or even keeping track of their kid in public places!). I often feel like people treat kids as way more fragile than they really are. I also think all the handling with kid gloves and coddling that people do with their kids these days is going to be the downfall of future society.
well it certainly is to blame for their lack of appropriate behavior in school and other public places. When and why did people start to believe they could not say no to their kids - as in "no, don't start a fire with the candle on the restaurant table." or "no. it is not appropriate to scream for 10 minutes to get your way - in church!" or how about "No. kicking the cart and yelling at the top of your lungs will not convince me to buy you that candy coated cereal (and mean it)" Forget trophy wives - apparently the new thing is trophy kids! |
| I agree with Kerry and Butterscotch. Kids aren't that fragile.
To quote Ron, we have become do-gooder pansies and our children suffer from that. It's no wonder parents still have 30 year old children living at home. I see nothing wrong with teaching children the realities of life and preparing them to become a productive, self supporting, honest, respectful member of society. We have spent too many years giving awards to everyone just for showing up. That's not the way the world works. Rather than worry about the welfare of a child actor working in a very controlled environment with a loving parent, we should show our outrage over homeless children, children living in abusive homes, or even children being raised to believe they aren't responsible for their actions. OK, off my soap box. |
Sheeps over Aces wrote: I agree with Kerry and Butterscotch. Kids aren't that fragile.
To quote Ron, we have become do-gooder pansies and our children suffer from that. It's no wonder parents still have 30 year old children living at home. I see nothing wrong with teaching children the realities of life and preparing them to become a productive, self supporting, honest, respectful member of society. We have spent too many years giving awards to everyone just for showing up. That's not the way the world works. Rather than worry about the welfare of a child actor working in a very controlled environment with a loving parent, we should show our outrage over homeless children, children living in abusive homes, or even children being raised to believe they aren't responsible for their actions. OK, off my soap box. Please stay up there! you made some very valid points. My son -(I can't believe I am old enough to say this) has people on his staff who went to school during the feel good about your self craze of the 80's etc. He is forever frustrated by their expectation that the fact that they show up for work is reward worthy - never mind performance. And they have Master's Degrees so of course they are owed extra respect and compensation. No wonder we are in a financial mess. (note: nothing against master's degrees - everybody in my family have them too) |
| I still don't think it is appropriate for anyone to purposely cause trauma in a child; he may be an actor, but at four even that is not really his decision. Take away "the public good" part of it, as I believe the ends don't justify the means, as I also believe that medical experiments on unwilling or unwitting patients is not OK too.
So for me the question boils down to: "Is it OK for a parent to cause real fear in their child for 5 minutes for a few dollars?" Would it be OK for a parent to put their 4 year old child on "Fear Factor"? Would it be OK for a husband to put his unable-to-voice-an-opinion paralyzed wife on that show? Would it be OK to have done this to a mentally challenged adult who had the capacity of a four year old? So is a louder scream of fear the determinant? I am not a huge fan of "children's rights", but don't they at least have the right to not be purposely traumatized? If not, how can we justify enforcing "real" abuse cases? Yes, as I mentioned I don't think it is likely that there will be a lasting major negative effect on the child, but is that really the point? Most broken bones don't have a lasting major negative effect either. Although I would say that while I don't believe it has had any effect on me (except perhaps my take on this discussion), one of my few early childhood memories is that of being lost in a store. |
| I agree with your POV on this one Ron.
I'm glad they did it in a "safe" environment, but I don't think it was appropriate. |
I wonder if our parents were related, Ron. My mum left me on a number 9 double decker bus when I was five!  I couldn"t get down the stairs fast enough and she forgot I was there!!!! She had my 5 brothers with her and they were playing up. The bus drove away with me screaming on the stairs. A lovely conductor, who couldn't stop laughing, rang the bell and the bus stopped. My mum was mortified. The memory is soooo stuck in my head, to this day I could pick that conductors face out in a crowd. It took me 30 years to be brave enough to catch a bus again! |
| This ad with the child satistically is having more impact on people here calling the quit line to give up smoking since it's release. So for 5 mins of a kid crying because mom or dad are not around is making people think what it would be like if mom or dad were gone forever due to dying from smoking.
We have been flooded for years with gruesome, gory anti-smoking ads and this one has had more impact on smokers with giving up especially those smokers with young children. It was filmed under strict conditions with mom and dad there and a child phycologist (sp) on standby. The child was only unattended for a few minutes but never out of sight of everyone. So it is working and making more of an impact to people giving up the smokes as it does pull at the heart strings and gets people thinking into the future what if I die from smoking who will be around for my kids and how will there life be without mom or dad there. Here we are way past shock tatics with anti-smoking way past the gore, blood and guts they have screened for years so a new approach and it seems to be having more of an impact then the other ads have ever had. So I think the ad is well worth it using the kid it is working and saving lives. |
| if you go to youtube and type in Aussie stop smoking ads you can see why most people feel this ad with the child is not as confronting as others that are more graphic. |
| I listened to an interview with the producer of the ad several days ago. She said it was scripted that the mother walk just far enough to be out of the shot. The child turned around and lost site of Mom. At no time was the intent to exploit the child and make him cry. Apparently it was a stroke of cinematic luck. |
| I don't have a problem with the ads themselves. My all-time favorite public service ad was of a young father running around a public place begging people "Please help me, my little girl needs blood. Please, help."
I just can't agree that the ends (getting people to quit smoking) justify the means (abuse of that child). It's a very slippery slope. Especially since smoking is a legally endorsed, regulated and taxed activity that people are doing by choice in the first place.
It seems we've all become accustomed to violence on the television. We've gone from debating whether a cameraman ought to put down the camera and help a victim, to putting people in harm's way on purpose, and I think that's a shame and I think it says something unflattering about our society. But it's only my opinion which is worth precisely what everyone else's opinion is worth! |
Sheeps over Aces wrote: I listened to an interview with the producer of the ad several days ago. She said it was scripted that the mother walk just far enough to be out of the shot. The child turned around and lost site of Mom. At no time was the intent to exploit the child and make him cry. Apparently it was a stroke of cinematic luck.
Was that a different interview than the one with Matt Lauer at the link given in the opening post? |
lisaoes wrote: This ad with the child satistically is having more impact on people here calling the quit line to give up smoking since it's release...........
Are the callers actually saying that they decided to quit because of the ad? With the economy getting worse each day, people are being forced to "MAKE" choices on what to keep and what to give up in order to have money for necessities. I'd be more apt to think they're calling in because its become a necessity for them to quit rather than the result of that ad, although the timing of the ad makes it look like its the reason. I agree with Ron and the others. Its wrong to do an innocent child that way, even if it was in a controlled environment. That child felt about like we would if someone threw us in the ocean with a shark and said, "It's okay, we're right here. That station looked as big to him as the ocean would look to us in a situation like that. People need to ask themselves if they'd want that done to them before they do it to someone else, especially a child. |
Quote: People need to ask themselves if they'd want that done to them before they do it to someone else, especially a child.
I don't know how many times there were minutes i couldn't find my mom and panic ran through me. Again, life lesson ...stay closer. Nothing traumatic. In fact, I'm currently feeding Joshee. If I walk out of sight right now, he'd start screaming bloody murder b/c mom isn't here. i leave him all the time when we are out with random strangers [to him although they are relatives], and each time he freaks out. He's forced to deal with it.  |
Joahaeyo wrote: Quote: People need to ask themselves if they'd want that done to them before they do it to someone else, especially a child. I don't know how many times there were minutes i couldn't find my mom and panic ran through me. Again, life lesson ...stay closer. Nothing traumatic. In fact, I'm currently feeding Joshee. If I walk out of sight right now, he'd start screaming bloody murder b/c mom isn't here. i leave him all the time when we are out with random strangers [to him although they are relatives], and each time he freaks out. He's forced to deal with it. Good point Jo. How many of us ducked behind a clothes rack int eh store when our kids were not paying attention just to impart this wisdom to them as well - oh come one I can't be the only one, I've seen other moms do it too. |
| Very good points, all of them...
How old were the kids when you'd duck away from them? I don't recall my folks ever doing that, but what I do recall are lessons on what to do if we got separated. "We'll meet at so and so a place" or "Go to a policeman", stuff like that. We also had a family "whistle", a series of three notes. It's AMAZING how well a fairly quiet whistle can be heard over normal store/crowd sounds. Those birds might be onto something. (Most of the following info comes second hand, from my mother!) I was an incredibly active child, nowadays I'd have certainly been classified as ADHD. My mother had me on some sort of a harness/leash system so that I could wander but she could still be in contact with me. Otherwise I'd have been gone! She says that she got quite a lot of dirty looks from other mothers and some occasional "you're a bad mother" comments, but she learned to get over them. She always figured that I was happier, she was happier, it was the best way. So maybe this mother does know best, but it's really hard to see that for me. |
| I do smoke and that ad does not make me want to quit. I think its abusive. Kids are not fragile, they bounce back from a lot of things. But to put a child in that position...on purpose, thats just plain STUPID AND MEAN!!! |
kerry wrote: I haven't seent eh video (blocked here) but I went to Catholic school - of course it's okay to use fear as a training tool
Kerry, I agree - I went to Catholic school too and to this day still suffer from "Catholic School Guilt" LOL |
Joahaeyo wrote: ........ I don't know how many times there were minutes i couldn't find my mom and panic ran through me..........
What age is the "EARLIEST" memory you have of when that happened to you? |
| I have memories fairly young in life, but heck if I know exactly when...
Question fired back at you (and there really is no reason you can't post under your username)...... yesterday, and I can say I do this almost DAILYYYYYYYYYYYY....... I ran into the house as fast as possible b/c joshee was content OUTSIDE BY HIMSELF WITH NO ONE ELSE AROUND to grab something while I still had 2 hands and a chance to do so peacefully...... 1. i knew he'd cry 2. it's the same EXACT scenario as video 3. he definitely was like wth is mommy,oh my gosh ....what am i going to do? .....does that mean I'm cruel?? Again, I do this almost daily to grab something since otherwise I wouldn't have 2 hands since he occupies one of my arms... Will he be emotionally scarred for life? edit: I was just thinking about the process MANY moms use to train their kids to sleep through the night. Leaving them in a dark empty room and letting them scream it out .......books say you can do so for UP TO TWENTY MINUTES........ talk about trauma!  |
Joahaeyo wrote: ......Question fired back at you (and there really is no reason you can't post under your username)......lol: ..........
My youngest memory was at 3. Was my birthday. Mom and dad had me sitting on top of my great-grandparents table with the cake at the other end. I remembered sitting on that table and I remembered an aunt and uncle's dog from when I was about that same age. Didn't remember any other details. Those memories were fresh when I was younger, but now - I remember having the memories, more than I remember the event..... if that makes sense.... lol:
People have to teach their children. I think its more 'traumatic' on mom than the child. |
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