Have you ever wondered how tobacco industries became as successful as they are right now? If tobacco is known to jeopardize a smoker’s health, as well as those who are involuntarily exposed by its smoke, then how did the industry strive to be successful as it is now? Also, if tobacco is known to be addicting, why is it still being produced for the consumers? Tobacco industries has been identified to conceal these memo’s from its consumers and instead of telling the truth, their industry strived by a form of exploitation. “The Sunny Side of Truth” is the slogan for commercials and ads that inform citizens about the dangers of tobacco. However, their philosophy does not include anti-smoking or pro-smoking. Instead, it allows their viewers to know, not just the facts about tobacco, but also exposing the viewers how tobacco industries has manipulated many people from generation to generation (Sunny Side of Truth, 1). According to the website, even the employees alone are smokers who are struggling to quit. Due to the staffs struggle through tobacco addiction, Truth® is able to understand the influence each tobacco industry has given. Truth’s commercials and ads have portrayed the tobacco industry’s manipulation to its consumers. For instance, the commercial titled “Typo” describes the effect of tobacco through second hand smoke. This commercial implies that smoking is detrimental, not just to the smoker’s health, but also to citizens who are involuntarily exposed to the second hand smoke, by using rhetorical strategies in order to inform the audience false information in order to manipulate viewers from the damaging effects of tobacco.
The slogan “The Sunny Side of Truth” itself is full of rhetoric aspects that convey the viewers about the message that is being given. The title is an analogy about the industries’ manipulation through its consumers. Tobacco industries are known to hide the truth from its consumers. According to the research of nicotine and tobacco done by Geoffrey Ferris Wayne, tobacco industries has strived due to false or fabricated information. For instance, tobacco industries have claimed that tobacco’s particle sizes and inhalation pattern can reduce lung exposure. They assert that by doing these two possible tactics, there will be less exposure to hazardous substances in the smoker’s body. However, scientific industries propose that the strategy of containing inhalation patterns and manipulating particle sizes does not target less exposure to the smoker. Tobacco industries do not only offer false suggestions, but these industries are also considered to ignore the important memo about smoking. There is also a role of framing throughout the words and choice of language that the industry uses. They fail to communicate risks and harmful aspects of the drug in order to regulate the production of its products and to avoid any restrictions of tobacco production (Bero, 207). The industry has debated and manipulated several scientific method and assessment risk in order to refute official scientific studies. During the 1990s, tobacco industries launched a campaign concerning “good epidemiological sciences” and “junk science” to the public relations in order to condemn governmental intelligence and reports. In 1969, executives of tobacco industries stated that the tobacco product is known to have “doubts” because it establishes controversy to the public health and with this controversy, the executives believed that there is a way to transverse the real facts about smoking and health to the public. Since the 1950’s tobacco industries has generated several controversies concerning the health risk of its products not just to the smokers but also second hand smoke exposure.
All these false exposures to the consumers portray manipulation of its products. Tobacco companies, from the very beginning, have appealed its consumers wrongly. The industries only favor findings that serve the tobacco industry to strive instead of failing by being deceitful. This is where the slogan comes to play. It is a rhetorical analogy about the industry’s way to manipulate its consumers. “The Sunny Side of Truth” implies the truth at a better alternate. For instance, the truth is on the sunny side instead of the dark side. The truth, which in this case is unfavorable and unhealthy to consumers, is manipulated to a better and sunny side. It is similar to “sugar-coating” in a sense that the truth is a fault-finding to the industry. Therefore, a better alternative reasoning is constructed and established for the “sunny side” of the unfavorable truth.
Analogy is not only an aid to the slogan, but also the commercial itself. The commercial begins with a fact about a tobacco executive in 1971 who knew that smoking can lead to underweight babies and suggested that some women would prefer smaller babies. Then an animated stork carrying a healthy baby flies beside the man looking as if the stork has gone through an exhausting flight. The stork then claims that healthy babies wear him out. The man then proceeds with a song claiming that all women would prefer smaller babies than healthier ones. It claims that "healthy babies are just no fun, esp. when they eat a ton," and that growing healthy kids is wacko. During the song, healthy babies suddenly parades out of their incubators to dance along with the song. The babies look healthy, happy, and you can even hear their laughter. Also there are audiences who looks puzzled throughout the whole song. At the end of the commercial, the singer questioned his song and the tag line "The Sunny Side of Truth" becomes visible indicating that the truth is alleviated in order to make it appealing. The commercial itself is an analogy. Instead of telling the audience about the harm of smoking, they portray it the other way around to where the smokers will sense better about themselves. Everyone knows that smoking can cause harm even to those who involuntarily inhale the smoke of a cigarette. Smoking is even harmful to new born whose mother smoked during pregnancy. According to Maternal and Child Health Journal, smoking during pregnancy can cause side effects to the mother and to the fetus. Most mothers who smoke during the stages of their pregnancy give birth to babies who are premature and weigh less than the average birth weight. Smoking not only affects the smoker or the mother but also the new born inside her body. The “Sunny Side of Truth” commercial makes an analogy by replacing the truth with a better substitute. This analogy is similar to the wrong doings of tobacco industries. Tobacco industries keep the harmful truths about their products from the consumers, just like the commercial is keeping the actual truth from its viewers. Its audience will automatically register their mind that most women prefer smaller babies therefore smoking will be the best solution for the situation. It is almost as if the commercial is adding humor and mockery towards tobacco industries around the nation. This analogy exemplifies the tobacco industries around the nation and their act of manipulation in order to become successful even if it was to harm the consumer.
Due to the use of analogy in the commercial other rhetorical strategies are able to derive including cause and effect, comparison and contrast, and example and illustration. Although it is not an obvious stance, there is unambiguous cause and effect strategy in the commercial. It depicts that smoking tobacco is detrimental to the smoker’s health as well as citizens who are expose from second hand smoke. It’s not just the mother who is harmed from the chemical in the smoke but also the one who is involuntarily exposed or inhales from it, especially new born babies. Comparison and contrast is also another use of strategy through the commercial. It is mostly implied through the babies that are mentioned. A mother who avoids smoking during pregnancy will give birth to healthy new born while a mother who smokes during pregnancy will give birth to premature and unhealthy babies. The commercial then illustrates this by the baby that the stork carries as it enters the plaza. In addition, the dancing of healthy babies during the song exemplifies that healthy babies is much preferred through the analogy. The analogy in this commercial constructed other important rhetorical strategies needed to portray how tobacco industry can be manipulative to its consumers.
The use of rhetorical appeal is obvious throughout the commercial. First, there is an apparent use of pathos because it contorts the viewer’s emotions about newborn babies. Instead of agreeing with healthy babies, the commercial makes a conclusion that most mothers would rather prefer smaller babies. In this case, since it’s based upon smoking facts, mothers would rather prefer unhealthy or premature babies. It even is portrayed through the reaction of the stork. This will certainly lead into an uproar if the case of premature babies is much preferred. Of course in reality, mothers would much rather prefer healthy babies who have average weight. The baby analogy captures the audience’s emotions through outrageous circumstances. Also, it does not only shock the audience but it also contains humor throughout its explanation. The musical tone gives it a sarcastic mood. It is not only the song but also the dancing that makes it cynical. The ending of the commercial also suggest humor because the actor questions the song he just sang. Ethos may also play in tact with the commercial because the commercial is mainly implying that smoking can lead into harmful situation. Although the ethical appeal is not so apparent as pathos, it is evident that the commercial wants to expose tobacco consumers about its effects.
Due to the elaboration of analogy about smoking, the commercial successfully implied to its audience the harm tobacco can give through the consumers. “The Sunny Side of Truth” does not only portray how truths are merely mistaken sometimes by a better alternate but also through manipulation of the situation. For several decades, the use of manipulative tactics of tobacco industries has lead their consumers craving for more. Although many consumers know the outcome of smoking, their products are still striving because of the truth that is concealed from the consumers.
References
"About Us." Sunny Side of Truth. Truth. 25 Jan 2009
Bachir, Rana, and Monique Chaaya.. "Maternal Smoking: Determinants and Associated Morbidity in Two Areas in Lebanon." Maternal & Child Health Journal 12.3 (May 2008): 298-307.
Bero, Lisa A. "TOBACCO INDUSTRY MANIPULATION OF RESEARCH." Public Health Reports 120.2 (Mar. 2005): 200-208.
Wayne, Geoffrey Ferris, et al. "Tobacco industry research and efforts to manipulate smoke particle size: Implications for product regulation." Nicotine & Tobacco Research 10.6 (June 2008): 613-625.
Commercial: http://www.thetruth.com/typo.cfm
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