Warning with Design

When visiting Uruguay, I was gladly surprised by the "cancer warning" displayed by the Marlboro brand in their tobacco packs. It seems that finally someone decided that the warning should be really visible -but more important so-, that it can be done applying some nice design to it!

Ok, I have to confess that some of my friends find the whole thing a bit creepy..., so maybe not everyone will appreciate the design as I do. But thanks to my extensive traveling (and my many, many years as a smoker) I have seen the warning in several languages, shapes and forms, but not once I have seen the message so "designed".

With different images (a tombstone, a small bottle of poison, a prison made of cigarettes, etc.) and a layout that makes the text look like as if it was glued to the pack it is impossible not to read it.

Another nice touch is the fact that the messages in the front and the back are slightly different but complementary. Take a look:

Warning message in the front Translation: "Tobacco smoke poisons the air with more than 50 substances that can cause cancer."

Warning message in the back Translation: "From any point of view, it is poison."

Warning message in the front Translation: "In our country, 15 people are killed daily by tobacco smoke."

Warning message in the back
Translation: "From any point of view, it kills you."

I was going to buy a pack of "Oxibitue" (a local brand) to see if they were also doing something like this but I couldn't find any, so I am not sure if the brand went out of business or what happened to them. And silly me, I completely forget about "Nevada" (another local brand) so I have no clue if this "design" is something popular there or if it just a Marlboro move.

I don't know about you..., but I liked the idea. It really makes the warning impossible to miss!

PS: Chile also has some big warning messages, but those have poor design and are really, really creepy!