Looking at Icons in Our Society

The image icon that I choose to blog about is Joe Camel. Joe Camel was the advertising figurehead and brand image for the J.R. Reynolds brand of Camel Cigarettes from 1987-1997. Joe Camel was to imbue the viewer with the feeling that smoking Camel brand cigarettes would make you the coolest person in the room that knows how to have a good time.

In the first advertisement, Joe is smoking a cigarette in a beach chair at a beach whose only occupants seem to be young, attractive women. Joe is not even paying the women any attention as if this is a typical occurrence for him when he goes out. He is sitting in between a cooler and a radio holding his pack of cigarettes in plain sight for the viewer. He is every bit the young man ready for another fun day at the beach.

In the second advertisement, Joe Camel is wearing sunglasses inside what would probably be a poorly lit pool hall with his hat on backwards and the sleeves of his blue, casual shirt rolled up. He his lining up his stick with the cue ball with his cigarette hanging out of the side of his mouth and his face wrought with concentration. Joe Camel is made to look very down to earth in this advertisement, he has a “tough guy” vibrato to him and once again, is the coolest dude in the room.

What both ads also portray Joe as, is “hip”. By making him the coolest person in the room, Camel cigarette allude to their customers that by smoking Camel cigarettes, you can and are just as cool as Joe Camel, and everybody wishes they could be that cool too. R.J. Reynolds played on peoples desire to be not only accepted by others, but their desire and be better than each other. Joe Camel was created as the ultimate “this is what you wish you could be” character. He was young, hip, got girls, went to bars, and overall just did what others wanted to do but could not. The only way someone could hope to get close to how cool Joe Camel was, was to partake in his favorite activity; smoking Camel cigarettes.

Joe was so cool that R.J. Reynolds actually came under fire because Joe Camel seemed so cool that kids as young as ages 5-6 could identify who Joe Camel was almost instantly.

R.J. Reynolds used Joe Camel as a vehicle of expression to depict how cool they wanted customers to believe they were for smoking Camel brand cigarettes. Their advertisements told their audience, “by smoking this, you can be this [Joe Camel]”.

This advertisement does not persuade me to smoke Camel cigarettes, but at once point in my life, it may have. Joe Camel was pulled because of his powerful impact on children and teenagers and possibly influencing many young people to start smoking. To someone who may have thought they were only growing older, or who wished they could relive their young life again, or who just wanted to have fun may have seen Joe Camel and been excited that they had finally found a way that might help them. If Joe could do it, they must be able to as well. Aside from the fact he is no longer around, Joe Camel would and is not able to persuade me to purchase Camel cigarettes simply because I do not feel I am the target market towards he his advertising. I do not associate myself with needing anything that Joe Camel claims he can give me.