Target Market: Right or Wrong?

A while back, there was a Truth commercial that showed the guy in a booth similar to a homemade lemondae stand, but instead of selling lemonade he was selling cigarettes. Painted all over his booth were brightly colored appetizing words describing the many flavors. The commercial then goes to show children walking up the booth, thinking that he was selling something delicious. He simply responds with 'Sorry kids. These are for adults'. This ad made me think about the target market of this industry. Who are they trying to reach out to? Adults are not going to be excited about fruity flavored cigarettes. More than likely, who's going to be excited are the young adults in the range of eighteen to mid-twenties - or even those younger than eighteen. How many ads have you seen that the company seems to be selling their product to the wrong target market? It happens more often than you think.
Often alcohol commercials give off a fun and exciting vibe, saying 'If you drink this beverage, you'll be this cool too'. Many adults who of age to drink do not consider this fact when they run out to the store to purchase a case of beer. The ones who think of this 'cool factor' are the ones that aren't yet legal and are still drinking because it's 'cool'. So why would a company want to target their product to the wrong market?
In my opinion, especially with cigarettes and alcohol, I feel like the companies are trying to work their way in to the younger consumers lives and hope that maybe it'll create a lasting relationship between the consumer and the product. I would just like to see classier ads that are reaching out to the correct audience, rather than feeling like I'm being taken advantage of because of my youth.
-Heather