What do you think about when you hear someone mention vintage cigarette ads from the 1950s? I imagine a James Dean type leaning over a counter and offering me a light (at which point I swoon, even though I don't smoke). Look, I know smoking is bad, but I'm weak for James Dean. Sorry! Apparently, teens aren't as weak-kneed as I am, though, which is a truly heartening discovery. TheFineBros put out a video of teens reacting to cigarette commercials and I'm gaining some respect for generation Z. The good news is Gen Z knows how to reference Mad Men. The bad news is they've never heard of a transistor radio. (Are their parents too young to have forced them to listen to Van Morrison?) That just shows a lack of character.
There have been a lot of anti-smoking ads, specifically theTruth campaign, which got a lot of attention at the beginning of 2015. theTruth claims only 8% of teens smoke now, which is a record low. Over 40,000 teens signed up for theTruth campaign, proving this generation has the power to stop smoking. Something else that proves this is the generation that won't smoke: Most teens couldn't believe that doctors used to smoke. And if doctors couldn't sell them on cigarettes, John Wayne couldn't either.
But nothing could match their upset when they found out that Lucy smoked:
The fact that the Flintstones were associated with smoking was equally heartbreaking to these teens.
Watch the full video, and prepare to be monumentally impressed by the teens reactions:
Images: YouTube
