Smoke-free TV people still love us

Hey, remember last year when there were ads on TV with TV personalities talking to you with tears in their eyes about how they quit smoking?

Well, they’re back. Jean-François Baril, Dave Morissette, Stéphan Bureau and others, sitting in a room made up of post-it notes, recounting to a loved one either a thank you or a heart-felt plea to stop smoking.

The token anglo this time is CFCF’s André Corbeil.

Last year I called the videos creepy. Unfortunately, they’ve since disappeared from the website (to be replaced by this year’s batch) so I can’t re-evaluate that analysis very well (why not keep last year’s videos up?). This year’s batch seems less creepy for some reason I can’t identify. But it’s still weird, uncomfortable.

Of course, that’s the point. To take the comfort out of smoking, and to catch the attention of the inattentive television viewer.

Now, whether any of this causes anyone to stop smoking, that’s another matter.

Quebec Tobacco-Free Week runs from Jan. 17 to 23.

6 thoughts on “Smoke-free TV people still love us

  1. Steve W

    I’m guessing it has more to do with CTV being a supporter of this campaign(last year Rob Lurie, this year Andre Corbeil). Otherwise I had the same type of reaction as the 2 comments above from readers(Andre Corbeil is not an anglo).

    Reply
  2. dan

    Rob Lurie was really freaky in last year’s ad. I still have nightmares about him randomly saying that he loved his dear niece. *shivers*

    Reply
  3. Kevin

    Who the hell makes these weird fricking ads?!
    Last year Rob Lurie was espousing man-girl love with his niece- – this year Andre Corbeil looks fruity as Carmen Miranda’s hat!

    Reply

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