This PSA was written in the past tense. When is it correct to do this?


While riding a train, I read a public service announcement that said:

> たばこを持つ手は、子供の顔の高さだった。

Underneath, the English translation said:

> A lit cigarette is carried at the height of a child's face.

The Japanese is in the past tense while the English is in the present tense.
As a native English speaker, I cannot easily see why the Japanese was written
in the past tense.

In what situations is Japanese written in the past tense when it would seem
more natural to be in the present tense for English speakers like me?




First, what sounds natural in English is of no relevance to what sounds
natural in Japanese as the two languages are completely unrelated.

This "advertisement" is a creation of Japan Tabacco Inc., which is a private
company; therefore, it is not a public announcement (at least by the Japanese
standards). Since it is advertisement, it can have more freedom in its style
of expression than real public announcements by a local or the national
government, which would often tend to sound stiff.

Trust me, using the past tense is NOT a common practice in catch copies in
Japan, either.

By saying 「たばこを持つ手は、子供の顔の高さだった。」, it makes us Japanese-speakers feel like we
are readng prose --- a line from a novel or something. It kind of sticks in my
mind, which is a good sign of success with mottos, catch copies, etc.

On its website <http://www.jti.co.jp/tobacco-
world/torikumi/manners/index.html> , Japan Tabacco Inc. states, regarding this
phrase (at bottom left of page) :

「○○はやめましょう」という広告ではなく、たばこを吸われる方が身近に感じられる、日々よくあるシーンをピックアップし、たばこを吸われる方自身がマナーのことに気づき、考えられる広告としました。

My freehand TL: "Instead of an ad like 'Let's stop ~~~!', we made an ad by
selecting an ordinary scene that smokers would feel an intimate connection
with and that would have them reflect on their manners and really "think"."




First, what sounds natural in English is of no relevance to what sounds
natural in Japanese as the two languages are completely unrelated.

This "advertisement" is a creation of Japan Tabacco Inc., which is a private
company; therefore, it is not a public announcement (at least by the Japanese
standards). Since it is advertisement, it can have more freedom in its style
of expression than real public announcements by a local or the national
government, which would often tend to sound stiff.

Trust me, using the past tense is NOT a common practice in catch copies in
Japan, either.

By saying 「たばこを持つ手は、子供の顔の高さだった。」, it makes us Japanese-speakers feel like we
are readng prose --- a line from a novel or something. It kind of sticks in my
mind, which is a good sign of success with mottos, catch copies, etc.

On its website <http://www.jti.co.jp/tobacco-
world/torikumi/manners/index.html> , Japan Tabacco Inc. states, regarding this
phrase (at bottom left of page) :

「○○はやめましょう」という広告ではなく、たばこを吸われる方が身近に感じられる、日々よくあるシーンをピックアップし、たばこを吸われる方自身がマナーのことに気づき、考えられる広告としました。

My freehand TL: "Instead of an ad like 'Let's stop ~~~!', we made an ad by
selecting an ordinary scene that smokers would feel an intimate connection
with and that would have them reflect on their manners and really "think"."

