AIDS Action Committee’s Blog

Fox and CBS Reject New Condom Commercial

Blog Category: sex education, media — Blogged by: Matt on July 3, 2007 at 10:58 am

According to the Our Bodies Ourselves blog CBS and Fox have both refused to air a new series of Trojan commercials because they focus on pregnancy prevention, rather than disease prevention. Isn’t pregnancy prevention the main reason some frisky farmer with no more room for little ones initially brainstormed the idea of a sheep’s intestine tied off at the end in the first place?

I am more surprised about Fox’s stance as opposed to CBS, since CBS has traditionally catered to a much older and more conservative demographic (although if you’ve seen any of the soaps on CBS you might question them as well.) But CBS aside… to think that Fox — the same network that brought us such morally and ethically questionable gems as Temptation Island and The Swan (not to mention the scrapped O.J. special) — feigns scruples around such a thing is pretty absurd. These programs have assaulted the “moral” concepts of marriage and fidelity and gratuitously furthered unhealthy image ideals while exploiting emotionally fragile women, and pregnancy prevention is where they draw the line? Does the person making these decisions actually watch their shows?

No matter the reasons, this policy is ridiculously inconsistent and should be revised. In order to make real progress in measures to protect women, children, and families, the media needs to take some chances and get these messages out. Perhaps Trojan could send Fox the commercial hidden in a giant wooden statue of Ann Coulter …

Wait… is that redundant?

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15 Comments »

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Comment by dsaklad@zurich.csail.mit.edu

July 4, 2007 @ 5:26 pm

If promoting sexual health worked wouldn’t there be a dip in the birth rate 9 months after the promotion?… For example, 9 months after Magic Johnson had his press conference was there a dip in the birth rate?.. Nature gives us this biological imperative, a powerful force where behavior change is unlikely.

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Comment by Matt B.

July 6, 2007 @ 9:15 am

I believe people can change behavior with regards to sexual practice. It’s not about asking or telling people not to have sex and denying them that natural impulse; clearly in many or most cases that would be futile. It’s about adding to the “uniform.” Think of it from another perspective; someone who has brushed their teeth regularly for many years so that it is completely habitual, but has never flossed. If the dentist suggests they floss, it may be a difficult change to introduce and practice regularly, but definitely not impossible. It would have been much easier if someone had stressed the importance of floss when they first started brushing though.

So my hope is that perhaps we can elicit consideration of change in those currently sexually active, but my greater hope is that we might be able to encourage condoms as part of normal sexual activity for those who have not started having sex yet, or have not been doing it long, so that it becomes a habit to them. Just like brushing.

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Comment by dsaklad@zurich.csail.mit.edu

July 6, 2007 @ 10:04 am

For millions of years people didn’t brush their teeth. Have you ever seen any bonobos that brush their teeth? The biological force behind sexual behavior is considerably more powerful and around a lot longer than advice to brush teeth.

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Comment by Emily R.

July 6, 2007 @ 10:35 am

You are having the wrong conversation! This blog was about media and what products can and cannot be sold in certain venues.

I was taken aback when liquor started advertising on network TV and have always been appalled at the degree to which beer ads proliferate all channels and audiences. Take sexually provocative television shows as you mentioned, ad that to commercials designed to stimulate and arouse, mix in a little alcohol promotion (now with caffeine!), and you are assured some people will be trying all that out at home. Not including equally sexy, equally stimulating information about safer sex — i.e. condoms and alternatives to vaginal and anal sex — is negligent.

People do have instincts (be they to care for their teeth or have sex); we also have senses and those respond amazingly to stimuli, like, say, advertisements!!

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Comment by don.saklad@gmail.com

July 23, 2007 @ 6:56 pm

If so called safer sex practices and condoms worked we would have seen the news headlines by now…
A.I.D.S. EPIDEMIC PEAKS AND IS NOW GOING DOWN

There have been no such headlines!

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Comment by jed l.

September 14, 2007 @ 12:43 pm

There have been no such headlines b/c we have yet to see the media fully promote and support the use of condoms and safer sex practices. Until we see Sex Ed in schools teaching prevention, not just abstinence, and a constant support base from the media and goverment, STDs and unwanted pregnancies will always be a problem in society.

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Comment by AM

October 1, 2007 @ 5:55 pm

This is an excellent opportunity for those whose education is being so fiercely debated to speak for themselves and I thought that you and your readers might be interested. ISIS-Inc and RH Reality Check have launched a contest called Fresh Focus Sex Ed Video Contest. Film makers must be 15-30 years old and make an original video about sex education that follows one of two themes: 1. Share your sex ed experience so far. Show us how and why it sucked or rocked. OR 2. Redesign how sex ed could be delivered. Imagine that anything is possible.

Read the official contest rules and submit entries at www.dogooder.tv/freshfocusvideocontest

25416

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Comment by --

January 21, 2008 @ 10:11 pm

Expecting sensible and consistent decisions from the media is unfortunately unrealistic… 1 in 7 people admitted to Accident and Emergency departments across the UK last year were under 14 - a total of over 2239 cases. Many have blamed a surge in advertising for alcohol between 3pm and 5pm which corresponds to when children have come home from school. Of course, the UK government spend £3.7 million on anti-drinking and alcohol awareness campaigns, but this is dwarfed by the estimated £200 million spent on advertising by the drinks industry.

It is obvious that greater awareness of contraception, etc, would also be a good idea, but being a good idea is rarely enough to qualify it.

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Comment by arthurW

February 6, 2008 @ 4:28 pm

the CBS channel has a more older conservative public audience while FOX the executives fear that if they show this type of educational clips it will hurt their sponsors that are more right wing conservatives

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Comment by S Rattigan

February 16, 2008 @ 5:09 pm

Another thing I find ridiculous about their ban of the ad due to its focus on pregnancy as opposed to ‘health-related’ issues like sexually transmitted infections, is that if you watch the ad on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6krr40mdHM), it makes no reference to either preventing pregnancy OR STIs. All it says is something like ‘use a condom every time.’ The reason to do so is left up to the viewer.

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Comment by the zak

February 16, 2008 @ 6:25 pm

> There have been no such headlines b/c we have yet to see the media
> fully promote and support the use of condoms and safer sex
> practices.

It’s not up to the media it’s up to the individuals most of whom know
all this after 20 years. it’s not going to make any difference what the
media says. There are specialized media, that reach their audiences.
Like the gay press. Do they reach grandmas?…

> Until we see Sex Ed in schools teaching prevention, not just
> abstinence, and a constant support base from the media and
> goverment, STDs and unwanted pregnancies will always be a problem in
> society.

Mainly it will be a problem because people will want to have sex. you
see these problems among the best educated groups in the country.

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Comment by Keith Dryla

March 19, 2008 @ 11:56 am

I never seen it but I can imagine it. They got to get back to brand recognition not shock recognition.