There are two French safer sex ads below the jump . You’ll see why I put them there.
They might go a long way towards starting a conversation about what is obscene, what is art, and where public health comes in. Compare them with the controversy over the original Starbucks logo in the U.S.
In addition, they say something about how differently French and American people (if you’ll allow me to generalize) think about sex, who should do it, and what it’s for. These condom ads are aimed at both men and women and they are receiving the same message. The copy on the ads say: “Explore. Just Protect Yourself.” In mainstream American culture, is exploring your sexuality a highly valued thing? Is sexual pleasure a highly valued thing? Or are we taught to believe that sexuality is more fraught with danger than self-actualization or pleasure? You might answer that, in the U.S., there is plenty of emphasis on the latter… but only with a single person and/or your spouse. In contrast, these ads are certainly encouraging both women and men to have lots of sexual parters. Like lots of them. Though not, you might note, of the same sex.
Via copyranter. Thanks to Jay L. for the tip!
