The NiQuitin CQ article and the NHS poster are aimed at smokers that are considering quitting,
Connor Watts Page English
Media Coursework
Smoking is an addiction. Tobacco smoke contains nicotine, a drug that is addictive and can make it very hard, but not impossible, to quit. This is a problem as there are one hundred and six thousand deaths per year in the UK from smoking related deaths; many people want to try and stop to increase their life expectancy. Therefore there is a lot of money for company’s to make from nicotine replacement products and courses to help smokers quit, which is something that they would like to do. However many smokers still need persuasion to make them decide whether or not to quit smoking. As a result of this, companies create advertisements and posters to promote their products. The company, NiQuitin CQ, have created an advertisement in a magazine which promotes their product, nicotine patches. The NHS are also trying to persuade people to quit smoking by producing posters that advertises that they offer a range of free, confidential stop smoking courses and they also offer Nicotine replacement therapy for free.
The different advertisements are both presented in different ways, as they are trying to appeal to different people and trying to promote different things. The NiQuitin CQ advertisement is presented as an article, in columns, which could shape appeal to different audiences. Because this is a long article, young and busy people may not have enough time to read this. Whereas, an older, retired or a more professional person could have more time to read the article and it is also presented in a more professional way as well. The picture in the bottom right hand corner displays the packet of nicotine replacement patches and a professional folder which contains a plan that gives tips to the smokers’ habits. Because the picture is in the bottom right hand corner it is the last thing that is read. The effect on the audience from this is so that they understand and remember that this program is different and could show that the company care about the smokers personal needs. The other pictures in this article show people in a social area such as the pub. The captions in the picture describe how a smoker was trying to quit but then began again in a social area so this could also appeal to people that socialize as well. The NHS article is presented very differently. It is in the form of a poster which could appeal to different people. It has a telephone number at the bottom of it and the writing is in bold. There are headlines, short sentences and bullet points. Because this is shorter than the other article, this could appeal more to a younger, busier audience. If smokers see this they could read it very quickly and take down the contact details. The contact details are a very bright red, whereas the rest of the poster is in blue, therefore the contact details are a contrast. Additionally the phone number of the company is given at the bottom of the page in a large bold text; this helps the reader remember the number and feel secure that they have a number to call for support. The picture in this poster shows two young people smoking and they appear to be very unhappy. This could persuade people to quit, even if they were not considering it.
