Sex Condoms and Cartoons
In the lead up to World AIDS Day on December 1, here’s the Sex Condoms and Cartoons campaign launched in March 2011 by AIDES and Goodby, Silverstein & Partners. A series of six comic strips was commissioned with the intent of motivating everyone to wear condoms during sexual intercourse. All of those visuals link back to a website, blahblahblahblah.org, designed to offer practical tools and tips for talking about condoms with your partner(s). The project originated from a very simple idea: Even if using condoms is less taboo than it used to be, it is nevertheless still a cause of embarrassment in intimate settings. The challenge for GSP was to find a clever way of taking the heat out of this complicated and awkward moment.
Cristiano Siqueria, a Brazilian illustrator, showed how condoms open all kinds of doors—and legs in “Siege”. And in a much more vivid, street-art style, he reminded those who like it rough that there is an easy way to stay safe.
Nathan Fox showed how wearing rubber gives you an advantage in your dating life, regardless of how scary you look. The comic strip is inspired by the swamp thing Creature from golden age comics.
Rod Hunt’s illustration is of a “World of Sex” theme park. The tagline reads “The safer you play, the longer you stay.”
Mike Kazaleh, a veteran of animated cartoons who collaborated on successes like Ren & Stimpy, The Simpsons and Futurama, gives us a good laugh with a deadpan use of case-by-case storytelling in King Kong.
Andy Ward drew inspiration from the Golden Books style of childrens stories to tell the story of Charlie the Trouser Snake.
Credits
The Condoms and Cartoons campaign was developed at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco, by executive creative director Erik Vervroegen, art directors Antonio Marcato, Raphael Milczarek, Andre Massis, copywriters Will Elliott and Icaro Doria, illustrators Cristiano Siqueira, Mike Kazaleh, Nathan Fox, Rod Hunt and Andy Ward, print producers/art buyers Britt Gardner, Renee Hodges, digital artist Joel Scott Wheeler, French translator Veronique Sels, operations managers Renee Fisher, Mignonne Lysiak, account executive Francois Grouiller.
