Pot Surgeon Ad Analysis Essay

Partnership for a Drug-Free America’s “Pot Surgeon” advertisement video depicts a nightmarish scene. “Pot Surgeon” uses a slightly unrealistic scenario and uses people of authority or high respect to make a point. The advertisement uses various lighting, coloring, and sound elements to manipulate the audience response. The use of such techniques is in an attempt to cause the audience unease. “Pot Surgeon” uses strong emotional appeals to raise varying levels of fear and distress in its audience in order to motivate him/her to reconsider any positive views towards the use of marijuana.
The advertisement “Pot Surgeon” uses a specific type of soundtrack as one of the ways to invoke fear and apprehension in the viewer to change any positive

views he/she has towards marijuana. “Pot Surgeon” uses a soundtrack that isolates brass elements, includes high violin notes, and non-linear sounds. The soundtrack in “Pot Surgeon” combines them in such a way that it causes the listener to become edgy. The low brass tones are used to create anticipation of an impending situation. As the brass tones build in intensity, the anticipation follows suit. At the climax of the anticipated moment, the brass tones break into non-linear and/or high-notes which create a sudden increase in adrenaline and heart rate of the viewer intensifying the viewers fear and creating negative emotions in the viewer.
Not only does the music cause the viewer discomfort, but the color scheme of the advertisement is specifically chosen to cause discomfort or apprehension in the viewer as well.

“Pot Surgeon’s” general coloring in the advertisement is variations of black and white and some blue and green which are all cool colors, used to cause depression, discontent, or unease. The colors used in “Pot Surgeon” are all neutral colors used to create tension in the scene. In addition to creating a disconcerting atmosphere with the color scheme, the use of cool colors also add to the hazy appearance which intensifies the idea that the room is filled with marijuana smoke. “Pot Surgeon” uses these coloring techniques to manipulate the viewer into believing that the scene is worse than it may actually be. Therefore the advertisement is attempting to cause the viewer to look at marijuana in a negative way in order to change any possible positive views on the

drug.
Likewise, the lighting and camera angles applied in “Pot Surgeon” are used to create feelings of disturbance and distress in the viewer to cause negative thoughts towards the use of marijuana.

The advertisement uses low lighting in the hopes of creating tension and discomfort in the viewer. The camera switches points of view from the surgeon to the view of a young boy at different points of the video, giving the viewer a feel for both sides of the situation. The switching camera angles allow the viewer to visually experience what the young boy is seeing in the hopes of causing feelings of sympathy and/or empathy in the viewer. Likewise, the angles allow the viewer to see the terrified face of the young boy from the surgeon’s point of view. The camera angles allow the viewer to experience the young boy’s terror and the surgeon’s impaired focus hopefully any happy viewpoints on the use of

marijuana.
“Pot Surgeon” uses various techniques to steer the viewer away from positive thoughts and emotions connected to the use of marijuana. Similarly, the advertisement depicts a surgeon and other medical personnel in an operating room preparing to perform an operation, showing the viewer a respectful or authority figures in action. The advertisement shows a surgeon smoking marijuana in the operating room right before he begins operating on a patient, who is witnessing the surgeon puffing away on the marijuana while he lies on the operating table. However, “Pot Surgeon” only shows the surgeon smoking marijuana while the other medical personnel casually stand around, observing the high surgeon. The advertisement uses the other medical personnel to represent individuals who do not use marijuana themselves but condone its use by others. The advertisement presents the viewers with the question of whether or not it is okay to overlook the use of marijuana even if the viewer is not partaking in it. “Pot Surgeon” makes a subtle point that supporting marijuana use is as harmful to surrounding individuals as it is to those who smoke marijuana, this is to explain to the viewer that even if the viewer does not smoke marijuana condoning the use of marijuana is just as harmful as using it.
Partnership for a Drug-Free America’s advertisement video “Pot Surgeon” attempts thwart any positive views towards marijuana by using subtle techniques. The advertisement uses lighting, camera angles, music, color schemes, and ethical matters to cause the viewer to experience discomfort and apprehension because these feeling are strong motivators. However, the advertisement is for anyone who has positive views on the use of marijuana. This audience encompasses a wide range of people, all of whom may not be receptive to the emotional appeals in the video. The advertisement uses an inaccurate situation, which decreases the number of receptive audience members. The advertisement has a whimsical and quirky quality which can be off-putting and cause viewers to not take it seriously. Nevertheless, the video does create the desired emotional responses in some viewers, potentially making them reconsider any positive and supportive views towards the use of marijuana.