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'Lost' Child in Anti-Smoking Ad Really Cried

Filmmakers let kid lose sight of mom to make spot more effective

By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff

Posted Apr 3, 2009 11:27 AM CDT

(Newser) – A new anti-smoking ad that shows a child crying after he loses his mother in a crowded train station portrays genuine distress, MSNBC reports. The 4-year-old—acting with his real mother—was allowed to lose sight of her for "a very brief moment," said an exec with the Australian group that produced the spot. In the ad, the narrator exhorts viewers to stop smoking for the sake of their kids.

“Toward the end, he lost sight of his mother, and he did shed some real tears,” said the exec, adding that child-welfare workers were on set. “Within seconds of those tears being shed, he was in his mother’s arms and giggling.”

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A child is shown crying in a still from a new anti-smoking ad. (Quit/MSNBC)

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A new anti-smoking ad. (msnbc)

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'Lost' Child in Anti-Smoking Ad Really Cried