We interrupt this LJ for a commercial break

[sabotabby]

I'll post soon about my most exciting evening, but for now, here are some words from our sponsors.

First up...here's a questionable ad for a good cause.





Perhaps there's another way to read this. But I'm reading it as, "if you get AIDS, you clearly don't have any self-respect." I don't think that's the intent of the ad—I hope not! But I can't figure out what else they're trying to say.

It's in the subway. I don't like looking at it.

The other one makes no sense, but I found it amusing.





I went to the guy's MySpace, which expresses a similar sentiment.

This sounds like fun for a guinea pig.

Up next: A Batshit Insane Adventure.

Comments

[sabotabby]

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.

[caprinus.livejournal.com]

In the last round of responses you've clarified your position and I no longer think you're as off-base or petty as I made it out to be. I am sorry. Thanks for remaining pleasant in face of my half-awake cantankerousness. The photograph distracted me from the copy, which you were addressing.

Yes, the text up top, "Self respect / Keep it alive", is in itself vague and weak. What does the pronoun reference, anyway? Is it like "Let it rain"? It's probably vague on purpose, however, in that "Respect your health -- use a condom" would alienate faith constituencies which believe in morality-based abstinence/loyalty approaches, and "Respect your health -- don't sleep around" would alienate the other, sane constituencies. Maybe whoever approved this version thought sie was being clever in coming up with a text that could be taken as both "pro-condom" and "anti-sex".

http://www.preventaids.ca/ is an initiative of the African and Caribbean Council on HIV/AIDS in Ontario which targets, among others, specifically people who are recent immigrants and for whom in-your-face condom talk might be a hindrance rather than an aid, even if condom use is ultimately a goal the campaign hopes to achieve. That said, they don't mention religion or morality or abstinence in any of their promo materials -- this news release says:
"built around the themes of stigma reduction, testing, and prevention, the images of this campaign will be displayed on billboards, bus shelters and print media in Toronto, London, Windsor, Peel Region, Ottawa, Sudbury, Hamilton and Thunder Bay. Featuring the work of models and photographers from within the community, the advertising campaign devised by Top Drawer Creative, Inc. is meant to embrace the ideal of community engagement, with the initial rollout centered on motifs of Family, Friendship and Self-Respect." (emph. mine)

So maybe Top Drawer is being crypto-anti-sex, but I really think one has to look awfully hard, and I still think we as non-Afro-Carribean-Canadians should probably not jump to conclusions about the insult the audience may feel.

[sabotabby]

Hey, I put it up in the first place because I was interested in other people's reactions to it.

And yes; one can only draw so many conclusions if one isn't the target audience.

Thanks for the debate. ;)