In Tobacco's Face: The Latest Antitobacco Ads Are Hyperaggressive, and That Has Giant Philip Morris Smoking Mad

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The scene opens with three Gen-Xers atop a bridge, sizing up the ravine they're about to bungee-jump into. To a driving, power-chord soundtrack, they take turns performing an awesome stunt--as they reach the end of the chord, they grab a can of "Splode'' soda off a rock. As the first and second jumpers bounce skyward, they open their prize, spraying a liquid blast into their mouths. For the third jumper, though, the can explodes, obliterating him in a ball of flames. The screen fills with the words: "Only one product actually kills a third of the people who use it. Tobacco."

Presidential candidates aren't the only ones pushing negative campaigning tactics to new extremes these days. The "Splode'' ad is part of a new, pull-no-punches, $185 million campaign aimed at convincing kids not to light up. It's the most money ever dedicated to a national antismoking …