Condom Co.'s Safe Sex Ads Include Offensive HIV Jokes, Totally Backfires
People are pissed that this condom company named two fake Tinder profiles after AIDS.
Australian condom company HERO created a campaign to spread safe sex awareness, buuuut it majorly backfired. The company ran a series of ads on Tinder that allowed users to "match" with fictional people named after sexually transmitted infections.
The campaign launched on April 4 and is a collaboration between HERO Condoms and artist Aaron Tyler. Together they created 10 fake profiles: 5 men and 5 women whose names are variations of common STIs. The pictures aren't of real people, but a blend of people's facial features, which Tyler put together in Photoshop.
You have the pleasure of matching with Aydes, Johnorrhoea, Herpez and Sydphilis, to name a few.
HERO Condoms CEO David Wommelsdorff says the campaign is designed to promote a message of safe sex.
"Critical to our efforts to reach youth and destigmatise the use of condoms, is to encourage young people that being prepared is actually being sexy," Wommelsdorff tells AdNews. "Carrying a condom should not be seen as a sign of bravado or promiscuity but rather a symbol that you are in charge of your own sexual health and that of your partner(s)."
The "profiles" are written from the perspective of the STI, and get pretty gross.
For instance, Chadmydia is looking for someone to "Cervix and Chill" with.
Meanwhile, Herpez is just your average guy who likes Seinfeld and contagious blister outbreaks.
While some users recognized the profiles as ads, others decided to give messaging a go, like they would with any potential match.
HERO says that 100 connections were made in the first 48 hours.
However, there were two fake profiles that sparked a ton of outrage, because they seemed to make fun of those living with AIDS.
The two characters are named Aydes and Aidy, and when messaged, they appear to joke about having HIV and AIDS.
Apparently, when Aidy is messaged, she says, "Knock knock. Who's there? AIDS😂," while Aydes' profile encourages matches to "swipe right if you like incurable diseases."
In fact, people are complaining about the "offensive" profiles on social media.
The Institute of Many cofounder Nic Holas spoke out against the campaign, mainly noting the inappropriate AIDS profiles. The Institute is a community and advocacy platform for people living with HIV.
Australian singer Troye Sivan also criticized the campaign.
Since the controversy, HERO has removed the two AIDS profiles and issued a statement in response to complaints.
"The goal of this campaign was to get people talking and thinking about safe sex and we appreciate you joining the discussion. We appreciate your views on the ways in which we could make this more inclusive and effective.
It was and is not our intention to isolate or stigmatise anyone who has an STI and would welcome the opportunity to sit down with you to discus future communication.
Health experts say that the rates of certain STIs (such as HIV and Gonorrhoea) are on the rise in Australia, in many cases, among young people. This campaign was designed to connect directly with young people and bring awareness to the fact that many people may not even know they have an STI.
Condoms help protect against STIs and it is important for us to continue encouraging anyone who is sexually active to protect themselves and their partner(s) from health risks."
Check out this video breaking down and discussing all of the controversy.