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News & ArtsTuesday, August 4, 2009
Sex French Condom Ad
Posted by Dan Savage on Tue, Aug 4, 2009 at 9:25 AM
Okay... we start with two standard-issue, condom-ad hotties doing it. Their condom wrapper flies out the window, floats away on a breeze, and as it drifts through town it inspires two teenagers to do it, as well as a middle-aged couple, an elderly couple, and what looks like two couples in a hotel room (there's four people in that room drinking champagne). Premarital sex, elder sex, group sex—pretty progressive. And then gay sex is introduced as the punch line: the wrapper lands on a cop car and the police officers—they're partners, aren't they?—are, like everyone else, inspired to do it. "You can be the queen tonight!" the ABBA-esque song goes, as we cut to the gleam in one of the officer's eyes.
Is it offensive? I don't think so. I laughed, and I thought it was charming. The laugh doesn't seem to come at the expense of the officers' humanity—and gay people's humanity—but rather in recognition of it. And it's better to be included and ribbed (for their pleasure), then excluded and made invisible.
2
Oh, the french are pretty conservative and largely view homosexuality as something humorous. But not in the petty and vindictive way the americans do, of course.
6
@ 5, because it's realistic. And the out-of-wedlock birthrate will go down when we get realistic about premarital sex.
Why do you fear sexual liberation so?
Why do you fear sexual liberation so?
7
Premarital sex is common and almost everyone engages in it and, sadly, acknowledging that fact, and encouraging those so engaged to use condoms, is controversial—here, at least, in the USA. So acknowledging it in this ad is progressive—or would be, if it happened here, which it couldn't.
8
Wish they didn't do the soundalike "Dancing Queen" - kinda distracting. And that really DOES look like a Washington plate!
9
Thank you, Dan, for not being another boring lefty who takes self-righteous offense at every opportunity.
10
7
Possibly with the hours you spend scouring the net for errant Youth Pastors and checking up on to see if you are being mentioned on gay blogs you miss out on the popular culture in America.
Premarital sex IS common and almost everyone acknowledges that fact and encourages those so engaged to use condoms. Nevertheless children in America have appalling rates of STDs and abortion and out-of-wed births.
What would be progressive would be to inform children that a thin layer of latex does not make unsafe behavior magically become 'safe';
What would be progressive would be to inform children that when used perfectly condoms have a considerable failure rate and that when used by real people in the real world the failure rate climbs to one in five;
What would be progressive would be to inform children that practicing abstinence (as many more than you realize or admit already do) is in fact the only sure way to prevent STDs and pregnancy.
Giving children ALL the facts, not just the ones that suit the Liberal world view, would be progressive.
An administration and society that valued science and fact over politics would do that.
12 year old girls having children and abortions and STDs is not charming.
Or funny.
Possibly with the hours you spend scouring the net for errant Youth Pastors and checking up on to see if you are being mentioned on gay blogs you miss out on the popular culture in America.
Premarital sex IS common and almost everyone acknowledges that fact and encourages those so engaged to use condoms. Nevertheless children in America have appalling rates of STDs and abortion and out-of-wed births.
What would be progressive would be to inform children that a thin layer of latex does not make unsafe behavior magically become 'safe';
What would be progressive would be to inform children that when used perfectly condoms have a considerable failure rate and that when used by real people in the real world the failure rate climbs to one in five;
What would be progressive would be to inform children that practicing abstinence (as many more than you realize or admit already do) is in fact the only sure way to prevent STDs and pregnancy.
Giving children ALL the facts, not just the ones that suit the Liberal world view, would be progressive.
An administration and society that valued science and fact over politics would do that.
12 year old girls having children and abortions and STDs is not charming.
Or funny.
11
Birds do it, bees do, even ordinary fleas do it...
I'm waiting for that song to be used in a condom ad.
I'm waiting for that song to be used in a condom ad.
12
That was very cute.
What really makes the ending work is not just the gleam in the one cop's eyes but the nodding of the other cop's head.
Floating condom wrappers: making the world a happier place.
What really makes the ending work is not just the gleam in the one cop's eyes but the nodding of the other cop's head.
Floating condom wrappers: making the world a happier place.
14
I think the humor with the gay cops came from the incongruity of them being cops more than anything else - if it had been a couple of young gay guys, I'm guessing they would have been in the middle of the ad.
15
Wow. When I first saw that ad, it never occurred to me that it could be interpreted as a "punch line" for gay men. I didn't for a second see it as offensive or mocking (and my cheerless, activist knee-jerk offense mechanism is high, sad to say). Those men have dignity, as much as everyone else in the commercial.
But I didn't notice the lyrics. I can see how that might grate.
I'm glad that you, Dan, and others here aren't offended. I really got a kick out of this ad.
But I didn't notice the lyrics. I can see how that might grate.
I'm glad that you, Dan, and others here aren't offended. I really got a kick out of this ad.
16
@10 Though you will never admit it sadly your "practicing abstinence" message has more to do with promoting religion than protecting children. You will quickly point to biology to denounce the gays but deny its existence completely when it leads to premartial sex by two consenting adults.
I think a much more alarming trend is not using a condom at all.
I think a much more alarming trend is not using a condom at all.
17
...maybe I'm not the target demographic (French males 18-24?) but a used condom or condom wrapper as public trash is yucky, not sexy. It's not like you see a crumpled-up burger-wrapping paper on the side of the road and think "Mmm, that's what I want for lunch."
19
@12:
I also like the little camera "jiggle" at the end - makes it look like "cette voiture de la police se balance!"
I also like the little camera "jiggle" at the end - makes it look like "cette voiture de la police se balance!"
22
16
The Liberal Bigots on Slog always feel better if they can convince themselves those who disagree with them must be religious nuts.
Liberal's like the idea of 'science' much more than the reality.
The Liberal Bigots on Slog always feel better if they can convince themselves those who disagree with them must be religious nuts.
Liberal's like the idea of 'science' much more than the reality.
23
A gay punchline would have been the condom wrapper landing on the squad car and the officers glaring at each other in disgust.
But the wrapper landing and the cops fucking each other with their eyes? That's just hot.
But the wrapper landing and the cops fucking each other with their eyes? That's just hot.
26
The ad might have been more offensive had the music started only at the end, but it ran all the way thought, so no biggie. Cute & funny.
@10 - you're a moron. Dan and everyone else I have heard with half a brain does take care to mention that condoms are not 100% effective. Good, honest and open sex education saves lives and cuts abortion rates. Good things.
@21 - old people might not get pregnant, but they can still get STDs. You'd be surprised at the number of elderly ladies showing up at the doctor with an embarrassing 'problem'...those naughty old people.
@10 - you're a moron. Dan and everyone else I have heard with half a brain does take care to mention that condoms are not 100% effective. Good, honest and open sex education saves lives and cuts abortion rates. Good things.
@21 - old people might not get pregnant, but they can still get STDs. You'd be surprised at the number of elderly ladies showing up at the doctor with an embarrassing 'problem'...those naughty old people.
27
Do the "pre-marital-sex-is-bad" people still exist? I would love to hear from them. Please, please, please tell me why it is wrong to have sex before marriage, I beg of you!
28
22: I'd like to see your reality with this Sky God smiting people all over the place, because I sure don't see it myself.
I thought the ad was cute. The ending made me laugh because, if this ad were "offensive" the "joke" would be the two officers freaking out, maybe quickly running from the close-quarters with another man; like seeing anything remotely hinting at non-heterosexuality was virulent. This, the joke was the switch of expectations, and the casual acknowledgement...without the officers looking like deviants.
I thought the ad was cute. The ending made me laugh because, if this ad were "offensive" the "joke" would be the two officers freaking out, maybe quickly running from the close-quarters with another man; like seeing anything remotely hinting at non-heterosexuality was virulent. This, the joke was the switch of expectations, and the casual acknowledgement...without the officers looking like deviants.
30
@ 21,
Elderly people are more likely to have had surgery (with a blood transfusion) before 1984 and the blood supply was screened for communicable diseases. Elderly women no longer have to worry about pregnancy so they can fool around as much as they like...and most don't use condoms because of this. Nursing/retirement homes see as much action as a high-school. Hence they are at risk for HIV.
Elderly people are more likely to have had surgery (with a blood transfusion) before 1984 and the blood supply was screened for communicable diseases. Elderly women no longer have to worry about pregnancy so they can fool around as much as they like...and most don't use condoms because of this. Nursing/retirement homes see as much action as a high-school. Hence they are at risk for HIV.
31
@10
Yes abstinence is the only 100% way to prevent STDs and unwanted pregnancy.
Also, living inside a bubble, or a likewise sterile environment; eliminating any contact with outside contaminants, germs, bacteria, viruses, is a 100% way to prevent getting sick.
Constructing and wearing a titanium-alloy, kevlar full body suit (helm included) is the only 100% way to prevent getting shot, stabbed, beaten up, mugged, hit by small falling meteorites.
Everything anyone does in any given day of his or her life involves risks, big or small. Sure there are 100% ways to avoid certain risks. Are they realistic? Are they obtainable actions?
What is "progressive" is addressing the risks associated with a certain activity in a realistic fashion and determining the best possbile solutions that is both practical and achievable for the human race.
Is abstinence a realistic and obtainable solution for STDs and unwanted pregnancies?
Yes abstinence is the only 100% way to prevent STDs and unwanted pregnancy.
Also, living inside a bubble, or a likewise sterile environment; eliminating any contact with outside contaminants, germs, bacteria, viruses, is a 100% way to prevent getting sick.
Constructing and wearing a titanium-alloy, kevlar full body suit (helm included) is the only 100% way to prevent getting shot, stabbed, beaten up, mugged, hit by small falling meteorites.
Everything anyone does in any given day of his or her life involves risks, big or small. Sure there are 100% ways to avoid certain risks. Are they realistic? Are they obtainable actions?
What is "progressive" is addressing the risks associated with a certain activity in a realistic fashion and determining the best possbile solutions that is both practical and achievable for the human race.
Is abstinence a realistic and obtainable solution for STDs and unwanted pregnancies?
33
I think the acknowledgment of sex in older adults is also worthy of praise, at least from an American perspective. I can't speak to the French perspective. The image of "fuck the silver and the china, let's doink on this slightly-too-small gorgeous cherry table" suggests a sexual passion and vigor that American pop culture rarely associates with older couples.
35
34 I mean that American pop culture says "old people having sex is gross". Unless it's a viagra ad. Then older men are allowed to toss footballs through tire swings with great passion.
36
Momma @32, those who wait until adulthood to start having sex, drinking and engaging in adult indulgences make the same mistakes that their counterparts do when they start, but then get hit with harder punishments since as adults, society assumes they should've known better.
..just the facts, ma'am... @22, aka Momma we liberals -- I use the L word since progressives were once left-leaning Republicans in the 19th and early 20th century, but are nowadays merely liberals gone to ground due to fear and rage-based conservative artillery fire -- so we liberals are actually quite appreciative of science, to the point we understand what it means when a condom is reported as having an 85% risk reduction regarding the transmission of HIV (i.e. putting the infection rate at 0.9 per 100 person-years with condom use, down from 6.7 per 100 person-years unprotected.) in contrast to the Abstinence Only interpretation, In heterosexual sex, condoms fail to prevent HIV approximately 31% of the time. which is typically interpreted in our schoolrooms as to say a healthy adult will catch HIV from a condom-using partner around once every three sexual encounters.)
The conservative crowd are the ninja masters of reinterpreting, cherry picking or making up scientific facts to suit their own ends, whether their intent is to discredit contraceptives, discredit evolution (or any science that conflicts with the bible), or discredit artificial causes of climate change. We liberals, in contrast, can't compete, and have to resort to counter-tactics such as selecting those results that are, in fact, reproducible and basing our conclusions off them.
More...
..just the facts, ma'am... @22, aka Momma we liberals -- I use the L word since progressives were once left-leaning Republicans in the 19th and early 20th century, but are nowadays merely liberals gone to ground due to fear and rage-based conservative artillery fire -- so we liberals are actually quite appreciative of science, to the point we understand what it means when a condom is reported as having an 85% risk reduction regarding the transmission of HIV (i.e. putting the infection rate at 0.9 per 100 person-years with condom use, down from 6.7 per 100 person-years unprotected.) in contrast to the Abstinence Only interpretation, In heterosexual sex, condoms fail to prevent HIV approximately 31% of the time. which is typically interpreted in our schoolrooms as to say a healthy adult will catch HIV from a condom-using partner around once every three sexual encounters.)
The conservative crowd are the ninja masters of reinterpreting, cherry picking or making up scientific facts to suit their own ends, whether their intent is to discredit contraceptives, discredit evolution (or any science that conflicts with the bible), or discredit artificial causes of climate change. We liberals, in contrast, can't compete, and have to resort to counter-tactics such as selecting those results that are, in fact, reproducible and basing our conclusions off them.
38
ZZZZZ... @37, Translation: [I don't] give a flying fuck. [I'm not] interested in real intercourse, or new information. [I am] only here to stink up SLOG with my fecal commentary.
Noted.
Noted.
40
As the adages go, Brevity @39, Assume stupidity before malice, and, then Assume ignorance before stupidity. If this information is not new to you, that rules out ignorance, so which of the two is it that remain?
I presumed you weren't stupid, ergo...
I presumed you weren't stupid, ergo...
41
Hi there. Any one know what that song is in the ads ? "...time to hit the floor and dance. You can be the queen tonight..." Is there a CD or anything ? I like this song.
42
Hi there. Any one know what that song is in the ads ? "...time to hit the floor and dance. You can be the queen tonight..." Is there a CD or anything ? I like this song.
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