Durex has announced that the Unicode consortium failed to accept their application for a safe sex emoji, leading to a rather funny response…
After finding out that their application for a safe sex emoji was unsuccessful, Durex sent a rather tongue-in-cheek press release today, stating that they had launched new ‘aubergine’ flavoured condom. For those of you out of the loop, this is a pun in reference to the amount of use aubergine emoji’s get on social media.
Volker Sydow, Global Director for Durex, said: “The idea of an aubergine condom coming from Durex is pretty absurd. But it is not as absurd as the fact that there is no emoji that enables young people to discuss safe sex easily in this language.”
Research conducted by Durex suggests that 80% of 16-25 year olds feel more comfortable using emoji’s when talking about sex, with that phallic shaped fruit being most popular.
Safe sex emoji indicative of today’s youth
If that isn’t a depressing image on the youth of today, it gets worse. Further research showed nearly half think that HIV will never affect them or their friends, with a third claiming not to care about safe sex at all. Durex also commissioned a study at Durham University on the prospect of a safe sex emoji, with three quarters welcoming the idea as a way to make discussion about the topic easier.
Dr. Mark McCormack, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Durham University, said: “Discussion of sex and sexuality is an everyday component of young people’s lives, yet young people are given little support in how to discuss safe sex.”
The company has been pushing for a safe sex emoji since November last year, when it launched ahead of World AIDS Day 2015. The company revealed an ad campaign complete with the hashtag #CondomEmoji, with people from over 140 countries voicing their support. Durex has said they will continue to campaign for the emoji to be introduced, despite the setback.
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