Durex pokes fun at youth with short film

Durex has engaged JinnyBoy TV, a local YouTube channel, to launch its latest campaign #myValentinevow in conjunction with Valentine's Day.The campaign will be launched in Malaysia and Singapore, aimed to encourage today's youth to celebrate the romantic holiday 'safely'.The short film Level Up starts with a couple sitting on a park bench talking about taking their relationship to the next level. The boy misinterprets her meaning and visits the pharmacy to make his first condom purchase. The ever-so-helpful and insightful pharmacist guides the boy along and explains to him the importance of using a condom. To his horror, the girl actually meant meeting the parents and guess who the girl's father is?http://youtu.be/aaPxDluuQOIThe context is rather played out, but for Malaysia, a sexually conservative country, employing humour to reach the younger market has found massive success. The film has been viewed over 108,000 times since its release.Jin, owner of the YouTube channel, shared that the video in no way encourages viewers to get 'busy'. “It's just a story of a misinterpreted conversation based on a joke that a friend shared with me."A representative from Durex shared with A+M that considering the cultural and religious sensitivity in both Singapore and Malaysia, Durex messaging is always responsible and aimed at educating youth about safe sex to prevent unwanted STIs and pregnancies."As there is no proper sex education and the topic of sex remains as taboo of a subject for both markets, Durex relies only on digital platforms to deliver safe sex messages, since the internet is the number one platform to engage with youth in search of more information."The full campaign has yet to be launched.Perhaps this funny and slightly awkward take on the topic is just a teaser to the digital campaign Durex is planning throughout 2014.