Title:

Don't Be a Butthead

Creator:

CDC

Date:

1998

Description:

Anti-tobacco campaigns have frequently used a deglamorization strategy, which involves challenging the persistent social norm of smoking cultivated by the positive imagery used in the marketing of cigarettes. This poster from the Centers for Disease Control in 1998 uses humor and an edgy layout with bold red lettering set against black and white to deglamorize tobacco use. It suggests that cigarette smoking is ridiculous and unattractive. The face of a teenage boy, who looks into the camera as he is about to light up a cigarette, has been superimposed onto a cigarette butt. The message playfully suggests that smoking makes one look like a "butthead"--a reference to stupidity or ridiculousness in the common vernacular of teenagers.

Publisher:

CDC

Original Repository:

The History of Medicine Division. Prints and Photographs Collection

Rights:

Public Domain

Genre:

Posters
Slides (photographs)

Subject:

Smoking, Smoking Cessation, and Public Health

Format:

Still Image

Extent:

1 pages

Language:

English

Legacy Source Citation:

Original Repository. History of Medicine Division. Prints and Photographs Collection. 11611. Free Text. This image may also be accessed from the Images from the History of Medicine (IHM).. URL. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/ihm/. IHM Order Number. C00191

Legacy ID:

VCBBDX

NLM ID:

101584655X57

Profiles Collection:

Visual Culture and Health Posters

Shareable Link:

https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/101584655X57

Story Section:

Anti-Smoking Campaigns