The Swiss public health office unleashes the most sex-positive ad campaign ever.
It's not often that you must say "yes" to a website's manifesto in order to get into it, but the new site for the Swiss public health office's Love Life campaign asks you sign off on three basic sex ideals before you get to the goods. They are: I love my life, I love my body, I have no regrets, and I'll keep it that way. 18,587 people have signed it to date. For a public health campaign aimed at combating the transmission of AIDS, it's one of the most sex-positive initiatives out there.
The Love Life/ No Regrets campaign is targeted at an international audience — French and English speakers — who will look at safer sex, not as an unsexy topic fit for middle school health classes, but one that's just another piece of the hooking up puzzle. “I love my body,” says one message. “That’s why I protect it from sexually transmitted infections like HIV: if I’m single, cheat on my partner, or if a relationship that has just ended, I use condoms and play by the safer sex rules.” The mention of cheating and casual sex without a hint of judgment (though "cheat" does convey some judgment) is something that seems unique to the Swiss ads — most government campaigns aimed at safe sex are clinical and drowned in impersonal stats. Instead, the Swiss government is saying, "We know you fuck, it's great, just do it in a way you won't regret."
That message comes alive in the "Love Life, No Regrets" video ad by Martin Aamund that premiered last night. It's filled with couples — gay, straight, lesbian — embracing and in the throes of sex, singing a song of passion. It's an artistic, almost softcore film celebrating and welcoming all kinds of sexual expression. In Switzerland, public health is becoming NSFW.
Another component of Love Life is that it's an openly gay-friendly, trans-friendly, fetish-friendly, all-ages campaign — the kind never seen in the United States. On the site, you can check your risk of STI infection, troll through the Pinterest-esque boards full of Ryan Gosling photos, eyeshadow tips, and shots of sexy people embracing, and find where the nearest testing centers and sex shops are. The Love Life initiative comes at time when the figures for new cases of HIV in Switzerland were just released. With an eight percent decrease in transmission compared to 2013 from the previous year, Love Life is the country's next push to decrease that figure even further. By 2017, the Swiss government hopes to shave that number down to only 350 new cases a year.
The campaign urges people inspired by the ads to post their own #LoveLifeNoRegrets content. Steamy photos, personal stories, and even brave new models for future campaigns are highly encouraged. If this is what responsible sex looks like, I wish it would come overseas.
Images via Love Life.
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