Anti-tobacco ad raising questions about authenticity
01/19/03
Minneapolis (AP) - A new television commercial from the state's anti-tobacco group has been raising some questions.
The commercial shows a bald woman cradling a baby as a home-video camera records the scene. She tells the child that ``Mommy is really sick'' and says she wants to show the baby how much she loves her. She then sings several lines from ``You Are My Sunshine.''
The ad ends with the tag line: ``Be there tomorrow. Stop smoking today.''
But the woman in the ad is an actor, not a cancer victim.
The Minnesota Partnership for Action Against Tobacco paid for the ad and says whether or not it's real is irrelevant. The ad cost $360,000 to produce and air.
But some advertising professionals say the commercial goes too far because it plays with people's emotions.
Cigarettes
