Honestly, if I had seen this ad when I was that kid’s age, I might’ve started smoking even earlier, just to get some action. But then again, I’ve always been precocious. Oh: and trampy.

I quit, by the way. (Smoking, not being trampy.) As a matter of fact, I stubbed out my last cigarette six years ago this very day. Celebrate, w00t, raise the roof, call me on my videophone, etc.

P.S. Yes, I have other issues with this ad — not the least of which is its implication that sucking dick is a terrible, terrible thing. The shot is inherently, outrageously homophobic, informing viewers that gays are pederasts, being submissive is bad, and so on.

In fairness, there IS one shot of a girl (and a faceless man sans jacket), which seems appropriate, since girls also smoke. But of the three ads in the campaign, two feature boys. So, in a nutshell: WTF? As much as I love the French — and I do — they’re not always known for thinking things through.

[via Towleroad]