The ‘80s were so weird. Check out this awesomely hilarious opening sequence for a PSA intended to spread awareness about sexual activity called ... wait for it ... “How Can I Tell If I’m Really In Love?” It stars, among some randoms, Justine Bateman (in a fierce plaid jacket, natch), brother Jason, and Ted Danson.
Remember those drunk driving PSAs we were forced to watch in Driver’s Ed? The plot was usually the same—a friend is at the funeral of a friend who was killed in a drunk driving accident and then we see a totaled car wrapped around a pole. While these were always a bit on the cheeseball side, they had the intended effect: to instill a healthy dose of fear into the hearts and minds of reckless, invincible, idiotic teens. Well, apparently we need to terrify, not just scare, the teens of today. This British PSA, which warns about texting while driving, is hands down the scariest, most graphic video I have seen in my life. In the first 30 seconds, there is a gory accident complete with necks snapping, blood flowing, glass shattering. I don’t want to spoil the end—but almost everyone dies. If you ask me, this is really taking it too far. The point of a PSA is to discourage the teens, not to give them vicarious post-traumatic stress disorder. Save the horror for horror films, please. [BuzzFeed]
Have you been tested lately? California health officials announced yesterday that an actress in the porn industry has been diagnosed with HIV––just another reminder to be safe when you’re having fun in bed. This is the first publicized case of HIV from the industry since 2004 (although the California health records show 22 HIV cases total since 2004). According to Steven Hirsch, an executive at Vivid Entertainment Group, the adult film industry has pumped out over 100,000 films since 2004 (whoa that’s an insane amount of porn), so having this few cases shows how successful the health practices have been in the business. While actors are required to be tested within 30 days of doing a shoot, and HIV cases have been very low, the Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation reports that approximately 15 actors every week test positive for other infections. I will stop with the scary statistics about the icky infections and just provide you with a little PSA from your mother at The Frisky: use condoms, get tested and have safe fun! [Fox News]
Sex and sketch comedy go together like penis and vagina. And the good people at Planned Parenthood of Portland, Oregon get both apparently. While the health videos we watched in high school were dull, outdated, and often gross, their take on taking care of down there features cool hotties and is laugh out loud awesome. Especially the silly “Down There Song”, which has made us want to rename the vag and dub it the “hot pocket.” So check out the site and use a condom!
An advertisement about the genital mutilating clitorectomy has just won an International Advertising Association Award for Social Responsibility. The print PSA is a photo of a naked women on her back with her legs spread. Covering her private interests is a white circle that reads, “Wet your finger and rub to find out what millions of women feel.” After you stroke the spot, magic ink makes “NOTHING” appear. Even scarier are the statistics—about 4 girls a minute are subjected to female circumcision with an estimated total of 100 million victims worldwide. The ad, funded by The Association of Women Against Genital Mutilation, cleverly gets the clitoris’ point across. Congratulations to the Contrapunto Advertising Agency in Barcelona, Spain, who knows how important it is that we speak up for those that can’t speak up for themselves! [Trend Hunter]