Persuasion Theories: Analysis of 'Thank You for Smoking' Film

This essay provides an in-depth analysis of the movie 'Thank You for Smoking,' focusing on its core messages and the persuasion strategies employed by the protagonist, Nick Naylor. It relates the film's themes to persuasion theories discussed in strategic communication, highlighting how Naylor uses manipulation and rhetoric to influence consumer behavior and challenge ethical norms. The essay explores the satirical nature of the film, its commentary on public relations, and the lessons it offers regarding skepticism and the power of persuasion in a consumer-driven society. The author reflects on the positive and negative aspects of the movie, questioning the ethics of manipulation while acknowledging the effectiveness of persuasion techniques. The essay concludes by emphasizing the importance of ethical considerations in public relations and the need for critical thinking in the face of persuasive messaging. Desklib provides access to similar essays and study tools for students.

Running head: THANK YOU FOR SMOKING: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
THANK YOU FOR SMOKING: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Name of the student
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Author Note

1THANK YOU FOR SMOKING: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
What are the core messages of the movie?
The movie “Thank you for smoking” is a political satire based on the life of a tobacco
lobbyist who promotes “benefits of cigarettes” using promotional and persuasive strategies to
compel the customers or consumers to deliberately purchase cigarettes with intentions to earn
profit in his business. The film mainly revolves around the M.O.D squad or Merchants of
Death squad (as they called themselves satirically), consisting of Nick Naylor, the tobacco,
alcohol and a gun lobbyist who gathered together to discuss various issues regarding their
enterprises, dealings and strategies. With various strategies from bribing the former Marlboro
star who was a cancer survivor campaigning against cigarettes to taking up policies such as
product placement scheme to input interest in the mind of the consumers regarding cigarettes,
Naylor makes every possible ways for survival of his business. However, Naylor echoes his
concept of “freedom of choice” of the consumers. The movie has its central theme about
“choice of the consumer”. The movie is based on a hypothetical concept that talks about
ethical dilemma faced by a numerous professionals when they have to decide whether he or
she would choose their career or their loyalty towards public interest. The moral of the film is
turning the global issues of concern, for instance, cigarette associated with cancer and the
corporate responsibility of the respective organisations coming up with these issues into an
appeal for freedom of choice, unless and until the tobacco producing organisations do not
pose a solemn threat to the mankind by a serious and obnoxious tobacco influence (Fang,
2012).
How does the movie relate to concepts and/or theories covered in the readings and lectures?
The most important concept that has been covered in the readings is “persuasion
theories and various strategies for an effective persuasion”. The movie “Thank you for
smoking” is a mirror reflection of the consumerism or consumer behaviour of America. The

2THANK YOU FOR SMOKING: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
movie is considered to be a masterpiece of “the art of persuasion”. The protagonist of the
movie, a tobacco lobbyist named Nick Naylor is observed to be using various persuasive
strategies and techniques to manipulate his prospective customers in purchasing cigarettes. It
has to be understood that, American consumerism is largely influenced by image. To keep
themselves in the eyes of the consumers, Corporate and business enterprises spend resources
for creating and promoting brand image of their products or services. With his outnumbering
skills of negotiation and manipulation, Naylor wittily and satirically wins the heart of the
consumers. Through his cunning usage of words, his deliberate twisting and turning of the
sentences, speech in order to manipulate his consumers, he challenges the assumed morally
superior ideals of the new society of abstaining from smoking habit. Even though the habit of
smoking has been condemned and morally resented throughout the world, Naylor clearly and
precisely declares that he was one of the mediators of the evil doers, advocating for the
freedom of choice and right of people in this case, indirectly persuading the smokers or the
prospective smokers to be awestruck with his broad minded attitude. With his crafty art of
influencing the consumers, he systematically succumbs to the issue of health problems
related to smoking and diverts the subject into individual’s personal principle of liberty where
he deliberately questions the system to allow a consumer to make his personal decision to
smoke or not to smoke. Through the liberation principle, the individuals are tempted to
smoke as they have been given the discretion of freewill to make their informed choices. The
movie shows how “image” of a product can be used as a persuasion tool to the American
consumers by showing smoking could be attractive, sophisticated and an off-beat experience.
Through his raunching debates and communication skills for advocating and defending the
powerless, he gains over his piteousness and passion when it comes to the art of negotiation
(Jowett &O'donnell, 2018).

3THANK YOU FOR SMOKING: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
What did you like best about the movie? What did you like least about the movie?
One of the most outstanding part of the movie which I liked best in “Thank You for
Smoking” is its satirical feature and persuasion skills of the protagonist. The movie is a
political satire dealing with sensitive issues such as tobacco and alcohol consumption and its
consequences. The most intriguing factor of the movie is the persuasion skills of the
protagonist, a tobacco lobbyist, Naylor, who advocated for smoking habits in a world which
has already started to condemn and despise the habit of smoking for various health issues.
The movie has exhibited itself as a masterpiece of “persuasion strategies” (Dillard &Shen,
2013). The Machiavellian Naylor is been observed to be twisting and turning the sentences
and speech to manipulate and influence consumers to purchase his cigarettes. He highlights
the image of individual libertarian principle and persuades the consumers to act according to
their own freewill and choose on their own weather to smoke or not. The movie shows how
“image” of a product can be used as a persuasion tool to the American consumers by showing
smoking could be attractive, sophisticated and an off-beat experience.
The part of the movie which I disliked was the lie and deceit inherent in manipulation that
leads to success and self-contentment. The satire depicted in the movie fallacious and the
inherent ironical element proves that. In the movie, when the former Malboro star, a cancer
survivor and a campaigner against tobacco was offered bribe to stop talking against tobacco,
he ironically accepted the offer. Such obnoxious act shows that anybody could be bribed and
taken into anyone’s favour. Another fallacious point of the movie is red herring depicted in
the conversation between Naylor and his son Joey, where Naylor is seen to divert the topic of
his work to his son by bringing out arbitrary and irrelevant topics such as ice-cream. Such
fallacious factors of the movie possess a negative image of the issue the movie deals with.

4THANK YOU FOR SMOKING: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Has the movie changed your perception of advertising/public relations professionals? If so, in
what ways?
It is an evident fact that ethics is associated with public relations. However, the movie
has compelled me to rethink about public relations. The Public Relations Society of America
is famous and popular for promoting honest and accurate information with fairness and
responsibility to the public whereas Naylor is observed to be misguiding the public with the
help of hollow doublespeak and crafty tactics to prove his point (Spicer, 2013). He denies
ethics in his public relation tactics. Therefore, he devalues the significance of Public
Relations whose basis is “ethics” and “putting the truth before anything else” by inculcating
propaganda. So the movie has shown a different perception of public relations professionals
apart from stereotyping them as “spin doctors” and also gives a gentle reminder that public
relations professionals should base their professions on ethics and value the same.
What is your major take-away from the movie?
The major lessons learnt from the movie is scepticism. It teaches to not trust on a
concept or a factor blindly, rather, recommending to believe strong indefinite belief based on
the principles on which the ideas have been tested and debated. A concept that suggests
persuasion techniques, if implemented properly, can overshadow facts is exhibited in the
whole film which is again a lesson regarding scepticism. Especially when the situation or a
fact remains under the canopy of ambiguity, persuasion techniques can be more powerful and
effective to manipulate or influence people. The movie exhibits ethical dilemmas constantly,
highlighting the growing complexities of the industry, market demand and public relations
principles in American world of business and enterprises, highlighting the concept of
utilitarian materialism in the postmodern world of 21st century (Thompson, 2009). The

5THANK YOU FOR SMOKING: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
second major lesson learnt from the movie is the concept of “persuasion” and how it can be
effectively utilised in the world of consumerism, image consciousness and brand freakiness
to attract the prospective consumers surpassing the values and ethics which are needed in the
act of persuasion of the PR officials.

6THANK YOU FOR SMOKING: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
References:
Dillard, J. P., &Shen, L. (Eds.). (2013). The Sage handbook of persuasion. Sage.
Fang, Z. (2012). An examination of the influence of movies with smoking scenes on young
adults’ attitude and risk perception toward smoking (Doctoral dissertation, Kansas
State University).
Jowett, G. S., &O'donnell, V. (2018). Propaganda & persuasion. Sage Publications.
Spicer, C. (2013). Organizational public relations: A political perspective. Routledge.
Thompson, S. (2009). Consumer ethics in thank you for smoking. Film-Philosophy, 13(1),
53-67.