Does Nakedness Sell a Health Message?
May 16th 2006 02:57
Category: No Category
In Switzerland a new public health campaign is about to be launched warning citizens about the spread of AIDS. The ad features hockey players and fencers avidly in the grips of the chosen sport with one intriguing oddity, the sportsmen and women are completely in the raw. The ads are intended to be run on billboards, in cinemas and on television. According to the Federal Health Office’s chief of AIDS prevention the philosophy behind the campaign is,
“We want to tell people that, just like ice hockey or fencing, you don’t have sex naked… you should wear a condom.”
It seems like one ambiguous way of getting the message across and I’m sure nudist colonies throughout the globe are in uproar.
“How dare the Swiss affiliate nudist exercise with AIDS,” would be the common cry.
According to the BBC, this is not the first run of odd ball advertisement campaigns generated by the Swiss Health Office concerning unprotected sex. Tourists are provided with a general service announcement with posters at Swiss road border crossings informing not only what the local speed limit is, but that condoms were also an obligatory luggage item. I’m sure that makes for a great game of eye spy with the restless kids in the back seat. The Health Office also advised hotels to start providing condoms along with the Bible on the nightstand. The Swiss must have a racier edition of the Bible, last I remember; there’s wasn’t anything particularly steamy in the Bible. Those pesky school nuns obviously steer us kiddies away from the exciting chapters. One of the more bizarre campaigns would have been the advice provided for those into adultery. The message being, “if you must screw around, do so with a condom.”
I find these in-your-face style campaigns rather odd, what are the Swiss teaching their children in sex ed classes? They’re getting the message across but, is it really necessary to revert to these shock style tactics. I remember the grim reaper ads that were televised in Australia around the 90s when AIDS first started getting worldwide publicity as a health epidemic. Not much was know about the disease, there was a lot of stereotyping and a general health notice needed to be brought to the general population. Now, I think Australians are well informed about the dangers, spread and preventative steps to avoid transmission of AIDS. This is largely due to the diligent health messages provided by Health Authorities.
Essentially, I think these shock tactic style of advertisements are short lived. Used correctly and judiciously they can be effective, such as the Grim Reaper campaign, but over exposure and I think people tend to get complacent and ignore the messages. The shock value is lost and before you know it, a bunch of naked fencers on a billboard is more of a morning perve-fest rather than a daily reminder to choose safe sex. This is highlighted with a Swiss university study conducted last year. Of the people in Switzerland infected with HIV since July last year, 80% new how they were infected. Most knew that their partner was HIV positive yet 20% chose to engage in unprotected sex anyway.
“We want to tell people that, just like ice hockey or fencing, you don’t have sex naked… you should wear a condom.”
It seems like one ambiguous way of getting the message across and I’m sure nudist colonies throughout the globe are in uproar.
Swiss Billboard
“How dare the Swiss affiliate nudist exercise with AIDS,” would be the common cry.
According to the BBC, this is not the first run of odd ball advertisement campaigns generated by the Swiss Health Office concerning unprotected sex. Tourists are provided with a general service announcement with posters at Swiss road border crossings informing not only what the local speed limit is, but that condoms were also an obligatory luggage item. I’m sure that makes for a great game of eye spy with the restless kids in the back seat. The Health Office also advised hotels to start providing condoms along with the Bible on the nightstand. The Swiss must have a racier edition of the Bible, last I remember; there’s wasn’t anything particularly steamy in the Bible. Those pesky school nuns obviously steer us kiddies away from the exciting chapters. One of the more bizarre campaigns would have been the advice provided for those into adultery. The message being, “if you must screw around, do so with a condom.”
I find these in-your-face style campaigns rather odd, what are the Swiss teaching their children in sex ed classes? They’re getting the message across but, is it really necessary to revert to these shock style tactics. I remember the grim reaper ads that were televised in Australia around the 90s when AIDS first started getting worldwide publicity as a health epidemic. Not much was know about the disease, there was a lot of stereotyping and a general health notice needed to be brought to the general population. Now, I think Australians are well informed about the dangers, spread and preventative steps to avoid transmission of AIDS. This is largely due to the diligent health messages provided by Health Authorities.
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