Maps on condoms and some porn

I get a lot of news postings about HIV and other health issues throughout the day in my email. It helps me to keep up with what is going on in the world of HIV so that I seem smart 'n stuff.

Here are TWO news items I received today that I'm just a bit confused about. I know there are committees and focus groups and task forces coming up with these ideas. I also know that behavior modification/harm reduction is a necessary but losing proposition. We need to put the word out there but unfortunately, Peter Jennings dying of lung cancer is much more likely to get you to stop smoking than an ad on the side of a bus.

New York and San Francisco have gone decidedly outside of the box with themselves on their new campaigns.

Let's start with the Big Apple. Mayor Bloomberg, in all of his progressive Republican glory, has given the OK to a new strategy to reduce HIV transmission.

Starting with the theory that "Brands add value and they increase use.", Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden and his commissioners are going to start producing New York branded condoms. Some of them will have subway maps printed on the wrappers. This leads me to all sorts of wandering in the imagination...

Perhaps a picture of Rudy Giuliani in profile, like the presidents with a picture of a closed peep show facade on the b-side.

Some can say, "Fuckin' A! But use this condom!" or "put this on your big Apple!"

To advertise, they can put a giant condom over Lady Liberty's torch.

During the annual telephone survey of 10,000 New Yorkers they plan to do their customer surveys by asking, "Did you use a condom the last time you had sex?' And once this is launched, the next time we ask that question, of those people who say yes, we'll say, 'What did the wrapper look like?'" said Frieden. "And if they describe our wrapper, then we'll know that they would have used our condom."

Perfect. That should work, because I'm going to describe my condom wrapper to some perv on the phone.

Anyway.....

Next, we travel to the Left Coast and Sin City by the Bay. The folks in San Francisco, not to be outdone have come up with their latest prevention campaign (drumroll please!)

Hot Sex Without Crystal? Hell Yes!

The campaign, which has enlisted "popular" gay "adult" "film" "stars" has already launched. It is intended to break the link that many gay men have between crystal meth and sex.

The threat is real. The poster is awesome.

Seriously, too many men are using way way way too much crystal meth. Not to mention all of those Mormon housewives. It's a damn scourge.

The "good":
endless confidence, "cures" depression while you're high, horny as hell, lose weight, dance/fuck all night, get all of your errands done in half the time.

The bad:
It makes you stink, feel like bugs are crawling under your skin gives you acne, you start crashing at work on Tuesday and you look like, well, like you've been tweaking for a week non-stop.

The ugly:
Meth mouth, permanent brain damage, trying to jump out of a car on the way to rehab at 60 miles an hour because "they" are chasing you.

I'm not being all Nancy Reagan here. Do all the smack you want - just stay away from this crap. It's ugly.

So here we have our two latest prevention campaigns. I guess they're better than Phil the Angry Syphilis Sore and the Happy Penis.