Mad Men, smoking and lung cancer.
The year is 1963 and Annabelle Mathis, an old flame of senior partner Roger Sterling, stops by Sterling Cooper, the fictional advertising agency on the television show “Mad Men.” She is in New York shopping for a new ad agency for her family dog food business, as well as possibly reigniting her romance with Roger. The show’s protagonist, Don Draper, is sitting in on the meeting with Roger and Annabelle. Annabelle says that she is now single because her husband died of lung cancer. He was 51. A moment after she delivers this news the camera cuts to Don Draper as he lights up a cigarette.
Lung cancer. Smoking. The juxtaposition is intentional.
This is classic “Mad Men.” The smoke is thick. Characters smoke in every possible setting, and they smoke often. The writers overdo it with the smoking to create a not so subtle visual reminder of the ethos of another time. From the first episode of the series titled “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” to the recent scene with Annabelle, a woman whose husband died from his addiction to nicotine, the air on the show is constantly clouded with tobacco smoke.
Because we understand fully today the true effects of smoking, there is little glamour left in taking a long drag and artfully exhaling smoke. RIESTER has been a leader in changing the character of our culture and its relationship with tobacco. One of our signature campaigns characterizes smoking in these words: Tumor causing, teeth staining, smelly, puking habit. There is another important word that describes smoking: killer.
Smokers are addicts. This is not an insult, it’s a physical fact. A massive and repetitious public awareness campaign has changed the way we think of smoking. While these efforts have not ended tobacco addiction, the mind shift that has occurred among millions of people is profound. Today a show like “Mad Men” can use smoking as a backdrop to help capture the feel of a different era. The thick smoke mocks another time. While people still smoke today, very few smoke in public places. The scene described above in “Mad Men” is almost unheard of today. Not many people can get away with smoking at work.
This is a good thing. There is no reason for Annabelle’s husband to be dead from lung cancer, though he was just a fictional character. Every day real people die as a result of their addiction to tobacco. We’ve come a long way since 1963, but the battle continues. Public awareness campaigns are one of the most effective tools available for breaking the grip of addiction.
The final episode of season three of Mad Men airs this Sunday on AMC.
