I remarked on the Condom Country ads earlier as being very cool. They convey the message effectively and they appeal to a broader audience than their target demographic because they're funny.
Sure, there are offensive ads for bad causes or products out there; I'm singling this one out because I see it as an ineffective ad for what is an important message.
I agree that its primary message is to tell people—specifically young women, probably specifically young Black women—to use condoms, even though young men may try to pressure them into sex without condoms. But at first glance, my first impression (and since it's a subway ad, one seldom has time to get more than a first impression) was dual: "If you sleep around, you don't respect yourself," and "People who get AIDS don't have any self-respect." The intended message is a good one, but in the context of right-wing politicians pushing abstinence-only education and the continued stigmatization of people living with HIV/AIDS, I'm still not convinced that the latter two messages aren't coming through.
I didn't single it out because the subject's a young Black woman; I singled it out because I was wondering if people were getting the intended message or the unintended ones. From the responses, it would seem pretty split.
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Date: 2006-06-23 07:25 pm (UTC)Sure, there are offensive ads for bad causes or products out there; I'm singling this one out because I see it as an ineffective ad for what is an important message.
I agree that its primary message is to tell people—specifically young women, probably specifically young Black women—to use condoms, even though young men may try to pressure them into sex without condoms. But at first glance, my first impression (and since it's a subway ad, one seldom has time to get more than a first impression) was dual: "If you sleep around, you don't respect yourself," and "People who get AIDS don't have any self-respect." The intended message is a good one, but in the context of right-wing politicians pushing abstinence-only education and the continued stigmatization of people living with HIV/AIDS, I'm still not convinced that the latter two messages aren't coming through.
I didn't single it out because the subject's a young Black woman; I singled it out because I was wondering if people were getting the intended message or the unintended ones. From the responses, it would seem pretty split.