Reach For A Lucky: The Lucky Strike Cigarette Diet (1928)-AI

Advertisements have always had a strong influence on how people view themselves, especially when it comes to beauty and health. One example is a well-known ad for Lucky Strike cigarettes that used social pressure around body image to sell its product. This essay will break down the ad’s visuals, the message it sends, and the culture at the time to show how it encourages harmful ideas about weight and smoking.

       The Lucky Strike ad features a slim woman in a bathing suit, stretching her arms out confidently. Behind her, a larger, shadowy figure stands in the same pose, symbolizing a possible future version of her. The bold headline asks, “Is this you five years from now?” suggesting that without action, the viewer could gain weight like the figure in the background. Below that, the text reads, “When tempted to over-indulge, ‘Reach for a Lucky instead,'” encouraging people to smoke Lucky Strike cigarettes rather than eat. At the bottom, the slogan “It’s toasted” is featured, implying that the cigarettes are processed in a special way to make them seem safer. 

On the surface, the ad shows two versions of the same woman: a slim, happy version, and a heavier shadow behind her. The message is simple—if you want to avoid gaining weight, smoke Lucky Strike cigarettes instead of snacking. The ad cleverly ties the cigarettes to weight loss, using the fear of gaining weight to sell the product.

        The deeper meaning of the ad is about more than just cigarettes. It plays on the fear that many women have about gaining weight. The shadowy figure behind the slim woman represents what could happen if someone “over-indulges” in food. The ad suggests that smoking is an easy way to avoid this and stay thin, reinforcing the idea that thinness is ideal. By saying “Reach for a Lucky instead,” the ad makes smoking seem like a quick fix for those concerned about their weight, which taps into social pressures to maintain a certain body type. The slogan “It’s toasted” is another way the ad tries to make smoking seem healthier. Even though the risks of smoking were downplayed at the time, the ad suggests that their cigarettes are safer because of this toasting process.

          The ad clearly targets women who are concerned about gaining weight. It plays into the pressure many women feel to stay thin and suggests that smoking is the solution. At the time this ad was made, being thin was considered the ideal body type, and smoking was often seen as fashionable, especially for women. By tapping into these cultural norms, the ad encourages women to smoke as a way to meet societal expectations.This ad is troubling for several reasons. First, it sends a dangerous message by encouraging people to smoke instead of eat. Smoking doesn’t help with weight loss in any healthy way, and cigarettes are linked to serious health risks like lung cancer and heart disease. The ad presents smoking as a quick and easy way to stay thin without acknowledging the harm it causes. It falsely promotes smoking as something positive, downplaying its risks by focusing on the idea of throat protection with the phrase “It’s toasted.”The ad also reinforces harmful beauty standards by suggesting that gaining weight is something to be ashamed of. The larger shadow behind the woman is used to make viewers feel bad about the idea of becoming overweight. As a result, it pushes women to conform to an unrealistic standard of beauty, where being thin is the only acceptable option. Kristin Rodier discusses the need to rethink fat studies and activism, critiquing how women’s and gender studies textbooks often promote “fatspiration,” the idea of “thin saviours,” and a sexist beauty culture (Canadian Woman Studies, vol. 35, no. 1-2, fall-winter 2022, p. 7+)This idea is echoed by Kristin Rodier, who discusses how ads like these portray “fat embodiment as necessarily resisting norms of femininity,” .As if larger women can’t be feminine or beautiful.These types of ads contribute to body image issues.According to a survey published in Health & Medicine Week, plastic surgeons have reported an increase in minority patients seeking procedures (22 July 2002, p. 4). A study on cosmetic surgery found that “6 out of every 100 women” suffer from body dysmorphic disorder, where they become overly focused on what they see as flaws in their appearance.Sunwoo Kim and Su Jin Yang examine how female consumers in South Korea respond to size-inclusive advertising, comparing reactions to plus-size versus thin-size models (PLoS ONE, vol. 19, no. 6, 17 June 2024, p. e0304989). Ads like this one feed into that kind of thinking by making women feel that their bodies aren’t good enough unless they fit a certain ideal.Another study showed that ads with thin models can make women feel bad about their own bodies. This can lead to unhealthy behaviors like extreme dieting or even an increase in cosmetic surgery. The pressure to be thin, which ads like Lucky Strike’s reinforce, often leads to dissatisfaction with one’s body and can cause long-term mental and physical health problems.

          The Lucky Strike ad is an example of how companies used body image fears to sell cigarettes. By suggesting that smoking helps women stay thin, it misleads its audience and hides the real dangers of smoking. The ad also pushes harmful beauty standards by implying that weight gain is shameful and that smoking is a solution. This reflects the cultural pressures of the time, but its effects are still relevant today, as body image issues and unhealthy beauty standards continue to affect people’s self-esteem. 

Bibliography

Rodier, Kristin. “Rethinking Fat Studies and Activism in Women’s and Gender Studies Textbooks: Fatspiration, ‘Thin Saviours,’ and Sexist Beauty Culture.” Canadian Woman Studies, vol. 35, no. 1-2, fall-winter 2022, pp. 7+. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A749301208/AONE?u=cuny_nytc&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=17ff9d92. Accessed 23 Oct. 2024.

“Survey: Plastic surgeons see increase in minority patients.” Health & Medicine Week, 22 July 2002, p. 4. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A89207820/AONE?u=cuny_nytc&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=10c7b239. Accessed 23 Oct. 2024.

Kim, Sunwoo, and Su Jin Yang. “Size-inclusive advertising in the Asian fashion market: Female consumers’ responses to a plus-size vs. Thin-size model in South Korea.” PLoS ONE, vol. 19, no. 6, 17 June 2024, p. e0304989. Gale Academic OneFile, dx.doi.org.citytech.ezproxy.cuny.edu/10.1371/journal.pone.0304989. Accessed 23 Oct. 2024.

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