The California Department Of Health Services commissioned a series of ads that talk about how the tobacco industry hides behind community service in getting others to see the tobacco industry in a positive light. These PSAs are in a pencil-drawn style and animated by Shane Zalvin and Bob Kurtz.
You can see all of the commercials and a print ad here.
Let us talk about tropes... broughttoyoubyTropeCocigarettes.
- Added Alliterative Appeal: Used in the second spot:Big Tobacco: We just stay away from the C-word.The Voice: Cancer?Big Tobacco: *gets triggered* No... cigarettes! We don't say anything about... cigarettes on the tube! We talk about beer, we talk about cheese, and... we talk about community service.
- And Knowing Is Half the Battle: The print ad ends this way.The tobacco industry, crocodile tears aside, still has a huge stock of chips. But our side has something they'll go broke trying to buy. It's called the truth.
- The Artifact: Big Tobacco is a crocodile simply because of the 'Crocodile Tears' Visual Pun in the first spot. When Big Tobacco reappears in the next two spots and the print advertisement, he is still a crocodile, but he does not do any crying anymore. The term 'Crocodile Tears' does come up again in the print ad.
- Berserk Button: He becomes literally bloody violent because someone simply asked him if Big Tobacco is still going to keep selling cigarettes.
- Camera Abuse: Big Tobacco beats up The Voice... which results in the camera getting distorted before falling on its side.
- Creepy Crossdresser: The print ad at Rolling Stone has Big Tobacco, a male crocodile, dressed up in web leggings, a tutu, and a rounded cap... while selling more cigarettes.
- Crocodile Tears: The first spot is all about these. Sure enough, Big Tobacco is crying while talking about how nobody likes him... even though he was at fault of all of that.
- Defensive "What?": Big Tobacco starts the third spot with this.
- Deliberately Monochrome: The series of spots resemble 2D pencil animation tests. That makes the Gory Discretion Shot stand out from how red the splash of blood is. There is a red spot on one of the cameras on the second spot, though.
- Disembodied Eyebrows: They are subtle, but Big Tobacco has small, bushy, floating eyebrows.
- Double-Meaning Title: The second spot is called 'He's Back'. That could mean 'The Big Tobacco character is back at another spot' or 'Tobacco companies are back on television'.
- Faux Affably Evil: Big Tobacco talks a big game about 'the new me' working at community service... but beats up someone who asked him if Big Tobacco is still going to sell cigarettes.
- Funny Animal: Big Tobacco is a crocodile simply because of the 'Crocodile Tears' Visual Pun. He is otherwise functionally a human: he walks on two legs, talks, has humans interests, and has rather high intelligence. Even when Big Tobacco resorts to violence, he uses his fists instead of his teeth or tail.
- Good Old Fisticuffs: Big Tobacco beats up The Voice this way... even when he has more animalistic means.
- Gory Discretion Shot: While Big Tobacco lashes out at The Voice, the most we see is a frame with splashes of blood. Most of the action is Camera Abuse. There is some justification, though, since Big Tobacco is beating up someone who the audience cannot see.
- Hypocritical Humour: Big Tobacco: 'Look. This isn't just about you. Do you've any idea about how hard to run a business that year after year kills 400.000 of it's best customers?'
- It's All About Me: Big Tobacco cares more about money than the fact that his cigarettes are killing 400.000 people annually.
- Loophole Abuse: Tobacco companies are not allowed to advertise cigarettes on television. They could, however, give a commercial that is about anything else, then bring up their brand name.
- Man Bites Man: Averted: Big Tobacco never uses his teeth when attacking someone despite being a crocodile.
- Major Injury Underreaction: Big Tobacco beats up the cameraperson, which not only causes splashes of blood but also makes the camera fall and glitch. The response was a plain '...just thought I'd ask'.
- Moral Myopia: in a case of
Fridge Logic, Big Tobacco is not allowed to talk about cigarettes on television but is allowed to talk about beer. - Never My Fault: After The Voice tells Big Tobacco that Big Tobacco sold products that killed and crippled millions of Americans, Big Tobacco claims that the American's did not have to smoke in the first place... even though Big Tobacco spent $100.000.000 on advertising to them while lying about how addictive cigarettes are.
- Never Smile at a Crocodile: Big Tobacco is a crocodile who peddles deadly, addictive cigarettes, disguises their advertising under the guise of 'community service', and even beats up people who ask him about his true plans.
- Once an Episode: Every TV Spot and the print advertisement has Big Tobacco bring up community service. Justified: the whole 'Croc' campaign is all about telling viewers about how the tobacco industry uses community service in reinventing its image.
- Only in It for the Money: Big Tobacco funds scholarships, soup kitchens, and homeless shelters because of 'buck for big bucks'. He is also more concerned that his business has trouble after peddling products that yearly kill 400.000 of its best customers... instead of, you know, the customers that Big Tobacco is killing.
- Smoking Is Not Cool: ...per a Public Service Announcement about how Big Tobacco is putting on a nice face while knowing how their products are addictive and deadly.
- Stealth Cigarette Commercial: Conversed: the print ad mentions that tobacco industries sell to underage children by telling them that they are not (yet) allowed to smoke until they are adults.Big Tobacco: Boys and girls, don't smoke. Not yet. Smoking is for big people – exciting, popular, powerful grownups. It's not for you. Not yet.
- Trauma Button: Big Tobacco gets triggered by the word 'cancer'.
- Villain Decay: The PSAs both play this trope Straight and Invert this trope:
- Straight: Big Tobacco goes from beating up someone who asked him if Big Tobacco is still going to sell cigarettes, to getting triggered by the word 'cancer', to funding scholarships, soup kitchens, and homeless shelters.
- Inverted: Big Tobacco becomes more comfortable with telling his true plans. He goes from beating up someone who brings up a point-blank question, to confirming someone revealing to Big Tobacco the true purpose of its advertisements, to fully knowing and dismissing the health effects of cigarettes and being annoyed at how 400.000 of its best customers keep dying every year.
- Villain Respect: Inverted: the Rolling Stone magazine admits, 'You don't have to love Big Tobacco to be impressed with its marketing skills'.
- Villain with Good Publicity: Invoked: Big Tobacco relies on working on community service and funding scholarship, soup kitchens, and homeless shelters, which is supposed to make other people more easily accepting of tobacco industries... even if the tobacco industries are still selling cigarettes.
- Visual Pun: The spots are about how Big Tobacco fakes sympathy with community service while they actually just want to get others hooked into cigarettes. Fittingly, in the PSAs, Big Tobacco is a crocodile crying while lamenting about how everybody picks on him.
- The Voice: Someone in the first two spots talks to Big Tobacco off-screen.
- What Were They Selling Again??: Exploited: Since Big Tobacco cannot advertise cigarettes on-screen, they would do advertisements that talk about unrelated subjects then bring up their brand name, instead.
- Would Hurt a Child: The print ad says that Big Tobacco advertises addictive, deadly cigarettes to children.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: according to the print ad and the first spot, the tobacco industry claims to be bullied unnecessarily, especially after the industry paid billions in legal settlements. That is just a ploy that is supposed to make others Cry for the Devil... and get them hooked onto cigarettes once again.
