Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Olympic Rings

Of the countless Olympic-themed advertisements I've come across in London over the past 6 weeks, this may be my favorite. Despite its obvious creative brilliance, this European ad also addresses the very serious, (but American-taboo) topic of safe sex. During my time in London and Paris, I encountered numerous advertisements stressing the importance of condoms and other precautionary measures in terms of mediating the consequences of coitus. Now, I have mixed feelings about these ads and unfortunately the situation is really a catch 22. I do not think these blatant exhibitions on public streets are ideal for the eyes of the children that are likely to be strolling along. However, I do think Europe has the right idea in educating its people on the importance of being wary of sexual repercussions. Which do you think is more important-protection or education?

On a side note, I recently read an article that suggests this ad may not be for Londoners as much for their visiting foreign friends.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/sex-relationships/sex/london-2012-sex-mad-athletes-set-1144971

Interesting...It makes you wonder which of the games is really generating the most competition.

4 comments:

  1. There’s something about this ad that I kind of adore. It’s bold and portrays its message without showing sexually explicit images, or any human figures, for that matter. I understand that content of this sort is more of a taboo, but I think it’s important for it to be visible. It could, potentially, open up a discussion between children and their parents, and if children are discussing this topic with an adult, they are bound to learn something about it.

    Perhaps this is what society needs—a catalyst for education. Education leads to informed action (like the use of condoms), and informed actions lead to better outcomes (like avoiding STDs or thwarting unwanted pregnancies). They are so interconnected that I don’t know if you can really look at them as singular elements; one is simply a response to the other, and both are crucial in public health.

    As an aside, this ad seems to be in the same genre as Project Condom (see link below).

    http://www.uhs.uga.edu/sexualhealth/project-condom.html

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  2. I agree that this is a very bold advertisement, and I think it is kind of genius. The creativity in this ad is just amazing, but it does bring up the debate about whether this ad is appropriate for children. Personally, I think this ad belongs in magazines or other media that is more focused towards adults. I do not think it belongs on a street where kids walk by everyday. Another idea is to place the ad high up on the pole so that it is only visible to taller people. I do like that ad and it is definitely capable of grabbing attention, but I do think there should be some discretion used as to where to place the ad. The last thing I would ever want my niece asking is what a sexathon is.

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  4. It's very interesting that you found this ad in London during the games. It is very creative and relevant for today's world, but was it really targeting regular people around London? I think they may be targeting the athletes. Some of my friends at home follow Hope Solo, an Olympic athlete, on twitter and they have informed me about how she has tweeted multiple times about all of the hooking up going on in the Olympic Village. I was shocked by this and have never associated the Olympics with an abundance of sex between athletes, so I researched a little deeper and what I found was shocking. USA TODAY actually did an article on Ryan Lochte about how excited he was for the hookups during the Olympic games. His mom even commented that he "goes out on one-night stands." I will attach the article so you can read it fully. Girls... you may no longer have such an obsession with this Olympic athlete. In another article I even found that during the previous winter Olympic games in Canada, 100,000 condoms were provided for the Olympic Village and with only 7,000 athletes, all of the condoms were gone within 12 days. It's really shocking that sex plays such a major role during the Olympic games. I guess it was silly of me to think the athletes would be concentrating on their sports?

    http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/london/story/2012-08-02/Lochte-favors-partying-hookups-at-Games/56687696/1

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