Salem Spirit Analysis

Share the spirit, share the refreshment
You’ve got what it takes – Salem Spirit. This is the claim that the RJ Reynolds Cigarette Company makes, and it certainly sounds enticing. After all, a group of young professionals certainly seems to experience the good life after having consumed this product. As the advertising industry is only loosely regulated by the Federal Trade Commission, it is not surprising that this part of the message is very bloated, while the truthful information about this product is almost ignored, therefore painting a skewed picture of Salem cigarettes. The effectiveness of this deceptive advertisement reaching out to the younger demographic relies largely on the marriage of brilliant color composition throughout
The chosen form of entertainment the young professionals are engaged in is depicted in a bright shade of red, further suggesting the feelings of joy and passion conveyed by the people in the image. Their clothing is deliberately shown in hues of blue and red, simply because blue symbolizes truth and loyalty, the exact same feelings one would experience while being a member of a group as the one illustrated. Additionally, RJ Reynolds attempts to communicate through the use of these colors that the message contained in this advertisement is truthful and can be taken at face value while also expecting customer loyalty in return. The background framing the picture is comprised of deep, green woods, conveying a feeling of harmony with nature and within the group itself. The color scheme continues with green and white on the cigarette boxes and is intended to symbolize both the safety and freshness of the product. As white is the color of innocence, safety and purity, it not surprising that the Surgeon General’s Warning in the lower left hand corner of the image is also in white. RJ Reynolds is speaking directly to the users communicating that safety is accounted for and to entice the consumer to focus on the advertisement’s primary
This technique has been in existence successfully in some form for thousands of years. Even in ancient Pompeii have street merchants and shop owners used painted murals to praise their wares to consumers. While advertising has evolved over the course of history, it has always been very closely related to a market driven economy. Consequently, it is no wonder that it experienced a tremendous rise at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century (The OpenLearn Team). From this point on forward, advertising has evolved rapidly, continuously changing according to the technologies available in the day. Praising goods and services changed from utilizing simple pictorial displays to depictions in newspapers and magazines, all the way to full commercials on radio or television. Companies have become ever more innovative and bold in order to be profitable, even if it meant including deceptive messaging. The Salem advertisement is in every respect designed to manipulate its audience utilizing brilliant color composition throughout the image as well as wisely placed and sized pictures in relation to text in order to achieve this