AIDES | GRAFFITI | 2010
A graffiti penis on a bathroom wall starts getting lucky the moment it puts on a condom / AIDES "GRAFFITI"
The hero of this ad is a single graffiti penis scrawled on a bathroom wall. An ad with genitals as the main character isn't something you see every day.
The problem
AIDES is France's largest HIV/AIDS support organization. "Graffiti" is the latest entry in the organization's line of campaigns that talk about sex with the casual spirit of bathroom graffiti.
The insight
The graffiti penis just wants to hook up with someone, but at first everyone avoids it. Then a girl draws a condom onto it, and suddenly it starts getting popular. Whether it gets avoided or gets lucky comes down to just one thing: whether it's wearing one or not. Instead of lecturing, the ad cleverly frames the message as a simple matter of being popular or not.
The idea
They took the crude, familiar style of graffiti you see on school or public bathroom walls and turned it into an animation. In that same loose, doodle-like style, the genital character wanders around, gets erased, gets drawn back in — and the moment it puts on a condom, everyone's attitude toward it flips. It tackles a serious subject using the kind of silly doodles everyone already recognizes.
What happened
At the 2010 Cannes Lions, it won two Gold and one Bronze in the Cyber category, plus a Bronze in Film. It was also shortlisted for the Grand Prix for Good and spread widely online.
Afterthought
Instead of shying away from the dirty joke, this ad dives straight into it and pulls out a real truth: safe means popular. You laugh, you feel a little startled, and before you know it, you're convinced. This is what a great social cause ad looks like.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Gold 2010
