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Vanessa Mae Lim

Film Criticism: Public Relation Values

Thank you for smoking (2005)

Thank you for smoking (2005) is a comedy-drama genre film directed by Jason Reitman. The film was based on the 1994 satirical novel written by Christopher Buckley. As the title suggests, the film concerns smoking tobacco. The film’s protagonist, Nick Naylor is a charismatic vice president and chief spokesman for Academy of Tobacco Studies. The academy he works for has been researching for possible links between lung cancer and smoking tobacco for years. Due to the lack of evidence found Nick continues to defend Big Tobacco. However, the film’s antagonist Senator Finistirre is determined to introduce a bill where it is compulsory to label all cigarette packs with a poison warning. Nick’s company begins to turn to Hollywood in attempts to use a positive and famous role model to promote smoking as a “cool activity” thinking it would bring the sex back into cigarettes. Over time, Nick efforts to promote smoking in a positive light increased. He appeared in interviews and offered bribes, he noticed the ethics of his works are obstructing his moral values. In the end, he reflected and step down from his position.


The five PR lessons the film has taught me is:

i) You have to comply with your ethics. The journalist, Heather Holloway from The Washington Probe was fired from her job because she published “off record” and unsubstantiated information about Nick in an article to expose him. Furthermore, she seduced and slept with Nick several times just to pursue her story, eventually she lost her credibility midst of that. Besides that, the employers at the Academy of Tobacco Studies are also lacking of proper ethics. Nick revealed at the beginning of the film that their team of lawyers are bribed to join the company with timeshares and sports cars.


ii) It is efficient to use emotions to appeal to the audiences. During the talk show the senator’s aide brought a child diagnosed with cancer in attempts to influence the crowd and fight for the anti-tobacco industry. To counter that and convince the crowd to be on his side, Nick emphasized on the 50 million dollar advertising project aimed to discourage the children of America from smoking. Moreover, after Nick was exposed for resorting to bribery he tried to justify his actions by saying he is simply doing all of it for the mortgage. This statement will be relevant to anyone who has to financially support themselves. The film showcased many examples on how your emotions can make decisions for you.


iii) The importance of credibility. Nick is the vice president, chief spokesperson and “the face of cigarettes”, he is credible because of his titles. Audiences are more likely to trust a person depending on their credibility. Nick tries to involve cigarettes in the film industry to further promote them. He was willing to pay 25 billion dollars for well known actor and actress to smoke a few cigarettes in their upcoming movie. When audiences see the product placement in a Brad Pitt and Catherine Zeta- Jones’s film it might indicate that smoking is “cool”. Using movie stars is a common way to promote products and make it seem more acceptable in the eyes of the audience.


iv) The truth is always negotiable; choose to debate with paradoxes. Nick taught his son, Joey that if he argues correctly and has a good enough argument then he can never be wrong. He stated that human persuasion can override factual information especially when the situation is ambiguous. Joey uses this method to persuade his mother to let him travel with Nick to California. Towards the end of the film, Nick also debated in the court scene. When the senator questioned the academy’s conclusion of the effects of tobacco, Nick responded with a positive affect. The senator wanted proof that smoking led to death and diseases but Nick mentioned that smoking can offset Parkinson’s disease. Apart from that, Nick also turned a conversation about side effects of tobacco into side effects of the Vermont cheddar, explaining that there are other leading factors of death.


v) Make sure both parties are being benefited. Nick discussed and negotiated with the film executive and create value for each other. Nick wanted to incorporate cigarettes in films and the film executive needed money to produce the film. Big Tobacco company was willing to pay for the product placement. Therefore cigarettes will get their exposure and there is sufficient funds to produce the film.

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