06-04-2009, 10:21 PM
Quote:So, yes, TV and billboards and political hacks with bullhorns might fail. But a catchy tune, a funny story, a well told joke all have their influence. Avalanches, I'm told, are started with a single rock.I largely agree with you here. But the processes by which (as you mention) smoking went from popular to unpopular wasn't just advertising. It was education. Potential smokers learned why not to start, and current smokers learned why to stop. Some people still ignore the results for whatever personal reason, but it's clear that the change in peoples' knowledge about the health risks had quite a bit to do with the decline in smoking levels. And that was among one of the world's better educated populations, where there are no groups who are overwhelmingly less educated than others.
If the government hadn't pushed the education on the idea that smoking causes disease and death, and had just directly tried catchy tunes and jokes, I don't think it would have been nearly as successful. Smart advertising can help, maybe even a lot, but it probably won't be a primary cause of change.
Or, but another way, I'm told avalanches tend to roll downhill, not uphill. ;)
-Jester