This post is part of a blog series focusing on successful health marketing campaigns using multiple communications disciplines and media channels. If you have a campaign we should highlight, let us know.
Like many of you, I applaud the use of social media in health promotion. I very rarely find a user-generated campaign to criticize.
However, I recently saw the Word of Mouth campaign against AIDS featuring people putting condoms on their tongues. I have to admit that this campaign is clever and I did watch the video several times – each time feeling a little bit more grossed-out. While watching the slimy condoms on those slobbery tongues, I was trying to figure out the target audience. My best guess – dentists. All joking aside, dentists are the only people I can think of that care that much about the protection of their tongue. I know the meaning is deeper than putting a condom on your tongue, but this is not effectively conveyed.
I blogged a while back about core values. Audiences tend to care less about their personal health and more about their personal appearance. We want to feel youthful and sexy. The WOM AIDS campaign makes condoms look anything but sexy. Public health practitioners need to re-frame condoms so they are a sexy element of intercourse, not a disgusting and annoying task. Check out this video to see how the concept of making condoms sexy can be successfully applied.
After re-framing the appeal of condoms we need to model effective skills needed for our audience to use them. Check out this video as a great example.
What do you think about the WOM AIDS campaign compared to these other campaigns? Any suggestions to improve these campaigns? Are there other condom advertisements and campaigns you’ve seen that are better or worse?
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While I don’t find this campaign appealing, I’d have to ask who the campaign intended to target, and ask them if they found it distasteful. Gay men, urban teens or other groups may in fact think differently. Do you have any further information on the input used to create this campaign and who it targets?
No I don’t have any information on the target audience. Is anyone else familiar with the campaign?