Does condom use in Trojan commercials
subconsciously promote sexual health? I find it interesting that growing up my
parents would always shield my eyes when a condom commercial played or tell me
to look away. But is there actually a positive message being shown in these
commercials?
I feel like this is such a
controversial topic because condom commercials are promoting sex while at the
same time promoting condom use. This is important for adolescences because if
they are not engaging in sexual activity yet, but are being primed with these
behaviors they may feel as if sex is a normal thing to do; even at such a young
age. They may also be learning sexual safety at a young age. There are also a
wide variety of commercials that have many different story lines. There are
commercials that are extremely gender based, and promote sex among men. Others
promote the objectification of a woman’s body, while some promote a couple is
in a healthy relationship. Can different storylines in the commercials promote
different sexual health messages? For example, do the ads with couples in
relationships have more of a positive health effect than the ones with female
objectification?
I think these are all important
questions to ask because as an adolescent who is learning about sexual
behaviors, it is important to show sexual health messages; so in this case
these ads would be positive. But on the other hand if these commercials are
promoting degrading features of women or men, then are the messages of sexual
health being dismissed and only the images being absorbed? Below is a
commercial for Trojan that emphasizes on a couple who seem to be happy together
and enjoying themselves. It shows the woman in a dominant position by being on
top of the man, and by showing that she has a condom in her pocket. I think
this is one of the healthier and more promoting ads that Trojan uses to
showcase their condoms, while also emphasizing on a positive sexual health
image. They do this by showing how both the female and male are prepared and
have condoms and they are both ready to use them without intimidation. I think
ads like this are the ones we should be showing to the public because they are
not extremely graphic, and they also show how sexual behaviors doesn’t have to
be extremely crazy and overly passionate in order to be good. This is also
another positive sexual behavior promotion of the ad showing that sex differs
among couples and there is no idealistic way of having sex.
Most of the condom ads promote the
use of condoms but they don’t show the health risks of not using a condom. In
Delgardo & Austin’s study (2007) they looked at an episode of friends where
Rachel becomes pregnant even after using a condom. This was shown to be
effective because after viewing the episode, respondents said that they did
observe sexual health behavior, and were aware of the risks. Even if an
individual does not directly link sex and the risks, at least they have facts
about condoms and may eventually internalize the risks of having unprotected
sex. This relates to the condom commercials because whether they show the risks
or not, they are still bringing condom use to the top of mind. I did find one
commercial where Trojan creates a humorous commercial that shows the risk of
not using a condom by saying “Do you really know who you’re sleeping with?”
implying that STDs are a risk factor as well as other risks of sleeping with a
partner whom you do not know. I think this is also promoting a positive message
in a different way than did the previous ad.
References:
Delgado, H., Austin, B. (2007) Can media promote responsible sexual behaviors among adolescents and young adults. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. 405-410
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