My dream has come true: MTV has gone back to the 80s. Not the whole network, of course -- you won't turn on "16 And Pregnant" only to find it replaced by the video for "Take On Me." But on the MTV website, you may catch a glimpse of a series of cartoons replete with vintage music and a pastel color pallette that seem straight out of the Saturday morning cartoons lots of Gen Yers grew up on.
The occasion for this visual nostalgia is a kitschy and, I hope, effective campaign to promote condom use. In one short, a woman with an uncanny resemblance to Jem is just riding her vespa, minding her own business when she suddenly is launched from her vehicle, thrust into the air and into the lap of an unsuspecting man.
If this has never happened to you, then you are not alone -- and that is exactly the point of these PSAs for safe sex, which all feature equally improbable mishaps (most of which involve recreational vehicles) and the tagline: "Sex is not an accident. Always use a condom."
According to Adweek, the cartoon campaign was inspired by a series of pro-condom print cartoons conceived by the advertising company Grey Worldwide of Germany for MTV Switzerland.
But just because the style of these PSAs is dated doesn't mean the message is: A survey released by Durex on World Aids Day earlier this month found that six out of ten U.S. men and women didn't use any form of protection against HIV/AIDS or sexually transmitted infections (STIs) when they lost their virginity -- underscoring the real need for effective pro-condom advertising today.
WATCH/PHOTOS: 'Sex Is Not An Accident' Cartoons
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And if a co-Ed's first time Is at a dorm party after she
I would love to know what men are being told about the use of birth control and sex. I'm tired of getting slammed all the time just because I have the uterus. "If men are going to be dumb enough to offer sex women aren't going to turn it down"...or something like that, is what I read only geared toward women. Like it's up to us all the time to put the brakes on.