Hi! I'm Chippy the AIDS Monkey!
Knock it off, you sodomites!
Owl_Eagle
”Guns Before Butter.”
Posted on 01/12/2005 9:31:32 AM PST by neverdem
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 7:25 a.m. ET
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- A new global campaign to stop the spread of AIDS uses three animated characters dressed as condoms who deliver a serious message in humorous public service spots in 41 languages: If you're going to have sex, use a condom.
The short spots are being offered free to broadcasters, community groups and universities and have the potential of reaching 80 percent of the world's population, Canadian producer-director Firdaus Kharas said Tuesday.
``We're using humor to stop the spread of AIDS,'' he told a news conference launching the public service announcements, which are targeted at people aged 15 to 24 in countries threatened by the epidemic including India, China, Russia, the Caribbean and central Asia.
``The Three Amigos'' -- as the cartoon condoms named Shaft, Stretch and Dick are called -- are pictured in a variety of settings from a spaceship to a soccer field to a casino. Twenty different spots are available in each of the 41 languages varying from 20 to 60 seconds in length. Some spots are blatantly sexual, others more restrained.
The punch line in the spaceship spot says: ``No condom, No blastoff. Stop the spread of AIDS.'' The soccer spot says: ``You just can't score without a condom.'' And the spot focusing on a roulette wheel in a casino says: ``Not all gamblers realize the odds stacked against them. Don't gamble with your life. Use a condom. Stop the spread of AIDS.''
Kharas said the idea for the spots came from his co-producer, South African film writer Brent Quint, who believes that AIDS is ``a preventable disease,'' and that using animated figures and humor can get across the message that condoms are essential for safe sex.
The spots are currently being shown in South Africa, Canada and the Netherlands and have already won 25 international awards and a strong endorsement from South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who called them ``a powerful communicating tool to encourage people to change their behavior.''
Frequent playing of the spots ``has the potential to capture the imagination of young people through humor, the portrayal of situations to which they can easily relate and the portrayal of characters who express what in a normal situation would be too embarrassing to speak of,'' he said.
Asked how the spots had been received in the United States, where the Bush administration is promoting abstinence rather than condom use, Kharas said arguing about abstinence vs. condoms ``is sterile'' because 5.3 million people got the HIV virus last year.
``I think we need to do everything possible'' to prevent the spread of AIDS, he said.
Kharas said the United States isn't a primary target for the campaign though spots have already been requested by a number of universities.
He said some countries have been ``touchy'' about the spots, but he insisted that everyone should be able to find several that are acceptable. He noted that in South Africa, which has large Hindu and Muslim minorities, only two complaints had been received.
``The Three Amigos'' was conceived and written in South Africa. The characters, props and layouts were designed and created in Canada, and the background and animation was done in India, Kharas said. More than 320 people volunteered to support the project.
You want to get people to be careful about AIDS, just show 'em some real pictures of what happens when you get it. Notice we haven't seen any pics of wasting-away AIDS patients recently? Wonder why?
Hi! I'm Chippy the AIDS Monkey!
Knock it off, you sodomites!
Owl_Eagle
”Guns Before Butter.”
Wonder how much was spent on this bright idea? Are there really people out there who don't understand how the HIV virus can be transmitted?
Finally, something Bill Clintoon can really get on top of!!
Wonder how much was spent on this bright idea? Are there really people out there who don't understand how the HIV virus can be transmitted?
Yes. Particularly in Asia and Africa. There's also the issue of people thinking HIV is something that 'other people' get.
So after all these years and all the "education" about AIDS around the world, we need cartoon characters to make them understand?
I just did a google image search for AIDS and man! Talk about some nasty stuff! Ewwww! Not receommended with children in the room.
Not one.
Not one.
While not as effective as abstinence or being faithful in a monogamous relationship, education and "safe sex" does reduce new cases of HIV transmission. I posted the story because it struck me as juvenile.
The primary purpose of campaigns of this type -- which are called "social marketing" by the UN -- is to break down modesty in cultures, and make casual attitudes toward sex the norm.
Well, I understand the theory. I just say that the AIDs industry needs to prove the HIV theory, not just assert it.
Yet pretty easy to prevent.
Yes I agree! Simply do nothing for aymptomatic persons who register positive on the ELISA or Western Blot, and they don't get ill.
aymptomatic = aysmptomatic. Sorry.
While not as effective as abstinence or being faithful in a monogamous relationship, education and "safe sex" does reduce new cases of HIV transmission.
I never said “education and safe sex” won’t prevent some cases of AIDS, I said this cartoon would not prevent a single person from contracting the disease.
It’s asinine and has absolutely zero educational value.
It’s worthless and typical of the way the UN throws away any money they don’t manage to steal.
Last try. aymptomatic = asymptomatic. Like no-one worked this out.
This is going to sound stupid, but I'm wondering why the journalist put preventable disease in quotes. I mean, isn't it? Geesh.
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