Tongue in Cheek
Does Florida anti-tobacco ad ridicule UK basketball fans?

In the media these days, it’s always possible to say one thing and have a reader or viewer interpret the message as being something entirely different. Great pains are taken by editors, writers and producers to make sure that when a message is presented, the viewers or readers will somehow “get it.” This is especially true in advertising campaigns.

I’m sure you’ve seen at least one television commercial with attractive people, catchy music and wonderful production values, only to ask yourself after it was all over, “What was that all about?” This means there was a problem somewhere in getting the message across.

Such is the case with a television commercial currently being aired down south by the Florida Department of Health. Despite its billing as being an anti-tobacco ad, its main purpose could well be interpreted as an insult to University of Kentucky basketball fans.

This particular television spot, named, “Junkyard Dog,” particularly addresses the hazards of using smokeless tobacco. It depicts a less-than-intelligent-looking guy teasing a ferocious junkyard dog through a fence. As he teases the animal, it becomes more and more enraged. Then, the guy takes a bottle of barbecue sauce out of his pocket, pours some on his tongue, then sticks his tongue through a hole in the fence. The dog breaks his chain and promptly bites the guy’s tongue off. The ad’s “kicker,” or key line is, “How attached are you to your tongue?” Then a narrator explains briefly that you can lose your tongue if you use smokeless tobacco.

Here’s the rub: The guy in the commercial wears a blue and white t-shirt labeled “Wildcats” with a basketball on it. While the word, “Kentucky” is no-where to be seen on the shirt, the implication is there. Which school, whose mascot is the wildcat and whose colors are blue and white, is known for its basketball prowess? And are we not on the verge of basketball season with the Wildcats being the preseason No. 1 pick?

I contacted the media relations people at UK about the junkyard dog spot. An e-mail I got back from Brooks Downing, the communications guru of Kentucky athletics, points out, correctly, that on the t-shirt, “Nowhere does it mention Kentucky. It could be Kansas State, it could be Arizona.” In my opinion, Downing is being very charitable.

The firm that produced the ad was Crispin Porter & Bogusky Advertising, whose offices are in Miami. They proudly sent a streaming video of the ad to Advertising Age magazine’s website. The magazine then made the commercial available worldwide on the Internet through its “Agency Preview” web page to recipients of its e-mail newsletter.

So what is the subtle message the commercial tries to convey? They’re trying to tell us that smokeless tobacco use can cause a user to lose his tongue. But there’s not a can of snuff, cigarette, chaw or cigar viewable anywhere in the ad. What you do see, clearly, is a blue and white basketball t-shirt with the word “Wildcats” on it, being worn by a moron.

Many advertising and public relations campaigns thrive on what their viewers and readers assume. And assumptions are a strange thing. While millions of Floridians might interpret the commercial as being a sermonette against smokeless tobacco, Wildcat fans could interpret it as something entirely different. It’s a case of one message creating two assumptions.

Perhaps the Crispin Porter & Bogusky people were biting off more than they could chew.

Claude Hammond is editorial director of The Lane Report.
editorial@lanereport.com

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