Here is an anti-smoking teaching idea – an image-based lesson plan based around the story of a controversial cartoon character from last century.
A smooth character?
Read the following text to your students. Ask them to guess who the mystery character is and why he was retired at the height of his fame and success.
I am cartoon character from last century
You might remember me
I was incredibly successful
During my lifetime, I was as familiar to American 6-year olds as Mickey Mouse
I was a US icon
You would have seen me everywhere
In shops and bars
In newspapers and magazines
In the street
On the sides of buildings
I wore sunglasses
A big smile and an oversized nose
Cool and confident
Sporty and sophisticated
A smooth character
With an exciting lifestyle
I was everybody’s friend
I discriminated against no one
No matter who you were
I would welcome you into my life
Pull you in
I was 100% reliable
Always there when you needed me
The perfect friend
Or so you thought
But in 1997, everything changed
At the height of my fame and success
I was retired
So who am I?
Who was I?
The answer is Joe Camel – an advertising mascot who was as controversial as he was successful. In the video below, I tell the story of Joe Camel and Joe Chemo. Note that the video contains subtitles in case you want to share it with your students.
"A Smooth Character?" is the most recent addition to the LessonStream lesson plan library – exclusive to LessonStream members (see below).
References & resources
- A gallery of Joe Camel images (Click here)
- The Joe Chemo website & image (Click here)
- Joe Camel on Wikipedia (Click here)
- New York Times article (Click here)
