Tim Rocke – Slave to Tobacco (And Sexism)

The above ad, published in French magazines, is an anti-smoking ad that loosely translated says that smoking makes you a slave to tobacco. Although positive in intention and quite attention grabbing, the ad is quite sexist. It uses a cigarette as a euphemism for male genitalia, suggesting that smoking makes this woman a slave to tobacco such as providing sexual favours makes her a slave to men. Has this ad gone too far? Does it depict women as subordinate to men, or is it an attention-grabbing advertisement promoting a good cause?