Title: Break the Habit
In the poster that I chose the creator, New York Department of Health, is trying to get people to stop smoking. This poster was made in the 1980’s which was a big time for smokers to start smoking. In movies from the mid 1980’s on through to the 90’s show that smoking was something to do more for a recreational thing. Not many people knew that smoking was something that would harm your lungs and body. The graphic design of the shattered glass with the cigarette behind it can be very visual for one smoking may shatter your life to pieces and two in a literal sense can it can be harmful to you. In another sense of the broken glasses could appeal to breaking the habit of smoking. Broken glass can symbolize many different aspects behind stopping a habit of some sort. This advertisement can appeal to the need to aggress in the way that in the real world smoking can harm people in many ways to the extent of death. This poster could be the breaking point from someone realizing that smoking is bad and they need to stop or something could bad could happen. A more basic appeal would be the need to escape because most people smoke cigarettes now to escape from stress and the feeling of pressure. Of course this Ad is trying to pull you away from smoking but some people could see this ad as a “if you smoke you will break free from stress or other feelings”. Lastly the need to satisfy curiosity is a feeling people get when they want to try new things. Smoking in the 80’s was new to some people mainly high school students and they were curious to smoke.
