In America, it wasn't that long ago that the idea of having condom commercials on television was hugely controversial. It was only in 1991 that Fox (of all channels) broadcast the first commercial for condoms ever to air in the United States. That may seem like a long time ago, but when you consider that we'd already gone through ten years of the Sexual Revolution and ten more of AIDS, it shows how early in the game we are in trying to talk about sexuality in public. Most condom ads still focus on their use as a health issue while de-emphasizing pleasure.
All of which makes looking at the way foreign countries choose to advertise condoms very interesting and enlightening. Last year, Durex's UK ad using balloon animals went viral worldwide using a delightful mix of humor and smuttiness. We spotted this 2007 ad from Argentina for Skin Skin strawberry-flavored condoms earlier today thanks to Nina Hartley's Twitter feed. There's two things that are remarkable about it: first, it uses a portrayal of shameless sexual pleasure; second, it's showing teenagers engaging in shameless sexual pleasure. They do have an embarrassing moment at the end, but overall, it's a realistic (and humorous) portrayal of teen sexuality and safer sex methods. In contrast, our attempts to talk about teens and sex have barely moved since Nancy Reagan went around telling kids to "Just say no," in the eighties.
Also, frankly, having tasted flavored condoms, this ad portrays the only legitimate reason I can think of to use them.
Print
