This New Anti-Smoking Campaign ‘Goes There,’ Focusing on What Happens to Your Penis
This post is also available in: ไทย
The Truth Initiative recently released a new anti-smoking campaign called “Twinkle Twinkle Little Dick.” The ad, in a non-explicit way, talks about how smoking can cause erectile dysfunction — and not just in older men. And while the 30-second spot is witty and deals only in innuendo, not everyone is amused.
The animated “Twinkle Twinkle Little Dick” anti-smoking campaign is pretty straightforward. As you may have guessed, it uses the melody of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” (Or if you’re a snob, “Twelve Variations on ‘Ah vous dirai-je, Maman’” by Mozart.)
The lyrics have been changed to be ostensibly about a young man named “Dick,” but, well, you can probably pick up the subtle innuendo, given lyrics like “You want to grow, but you’re so sick.” The spot ends with this final thought: “Smoking can cause erectile dysfunction in men as young as 20.”
Smoking is a major problem in the LGBT community, as our community smokes more than many other demographics. In addition to erectile dysfunction and, of course, lung cancer and emphysema, smoking is also linked with a host of other maladies, including bladder and liver cancer, heart attack and stroke.
Of course, since the “Twinkle Twinkle Little Dick” ad refers to sexuality, not everyone is pleased with it. Noted killjoys and idiots One Million Moms have started a campaign urging the Truth Initiative to take the ad down.
In its own campaign, One Million Moms says “Truth Initiative anti-smoking commercials are always graphic and over the top. Their latest has crossed the line!” The organization objects to the anti-smoking campaign running on “Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network at times when children are likely watching,” because “Children as young as 3 are singing a seemingly harmless nursery rhyme that has now been perverted and twisted. Is nothing sacred anymore?”
Other things One Million Moms is particularly up-in-arms about at the moment include Nike’s Colin Kaepernick ad (OMM aren’t fans), the ABC sitcom American Housewives (OMM is really against it) and promos for TV Land’s Younger, which stars Nico Tortorella. (Guess what? OMM hates it.)
Thank goodness One Million Moms is around to fight against the truly important things in life — you know, rather than kids being separated from their families, sometimes literally ripped from their mothers’ arms. But then again, why would a group called One Million Moms have anything to say about that?
