A year ago we wrote about Vanabbetotvessem’s commercial for SoaAids about Frank(enstein) & Sally needing an STD test. Apart from the wonderful execution, we really liked the metaphor of Frank being built up out of different body parts: “But this could be anyone’s…penis”. Always use a condom, until you’ve done an STD test was the message. This commercial is very similar, though it uses a different insight. Apparently guys are afraid to do the STD test, because of horror stories about devices that have to enter your…well, you know. But nowadays ‘pissing in a pot’ is often sufficient – to Frank’s great relieve.

Vanabbetotvessem made this online commercial to promote an exhibition in the Centraal Museum, called ‘God save the queen’ – obviously referring to the popular Sex Pistols song. The very itchy and smartly made stop-motion film was made by printing posters in a sequence, sticking them on walls, photographing them, and editing them into a film. The exhibition is about the roaring years ‘77 till ’84, when generation X created its own space within the history of art. It shows the punk and graffiti inspired art scene of this era, with works of Walter Dahn, Georg Dokoupil, Keith Haring, Rammellzee, and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

How to make teenagers wear a condom? A difficult one. Or maybe not. SOA-AIDS (‘STD-AIDS’), an organization that wants to prevent the bad juices from flowing too freely, asked Vanabbetotvessem to create a campaign that playfully explains the importance of using a condom. These posters were the result. They convey tips about how to go about when the C-word comes into play. From left to right: “Start about a condom before your trousers come off”, “Women appreciate it when you start about the condoms”, and “A self assured woman starts about condoms herself”. O.k. nothing spectacular here. What is really special about this campaign is the way the outdoor posters were created. Forget Mac, forget Adobe, it was all made by hand. Why, we asked Vanabbetotvessem. “We like the touch of human imperfection. When you see the outdoor posters from close by, you actually sense that it’s made by hand”. Vanabbetotvessem also designed a booklet with more tips and a condom packaging – with the same visual identity, so that it will nicely add up to the rest of the campaign. Here you can watch the making of the posters – it’s good to see that some agencies still make advertising with love.

These guys are really relaxed about having sex. The first one says “I will only touch your breasts, if you think that’s o.k.” The second one is less explicit (except for his horny look), but also very respectful towards the girl; “I am ready for more, but you are in charge”. Welcome to Holland, the country where prostitutes and marihuana are legal and where teenaged men make sure the girls they are about to give an STD or a baby, are ready for it. The URL maaksekslekkerduidelijk.nl (be ‘deliciously’ clear about sex) persuades teenagers to check each other’s ‘sex manual’. To us this sounds like a teaser for a date-with-happy-end app, but since SOA-AIDS (‘STD-AIDS’) owns the campaign, that is probably not the case. What surprised us even more is that when you’re not between 12 and 32, you cannot access the site. That is, we understand it has to do with targeting, but the message you receive is beyond weird: “We don’t want 15 year old boys to encounter their mother’s manual”. Have they gone mad? We are pretty sure that the good old ‘Use a condom’ works better. Created by Woedend!

This week we read on Adrants about an iPod app made for Hardee’s, an American fast food chain that makes – among other things – supersized, cholesterol building French Dip Thickburgers. The app, called Parisian Pick Up, allows you to pick-up girls and Hardee’s burgers – both meat, right? Adrants’ Steve Hall writes: “users can select their favorite French mouth image, select a message, and then hold the screen over their mouths to deliver it with a swarthy French accent or in perfect French with subtitles”. Great app, you would say. But the idea is not new, unfortunately. It’s practically identical to Vanabbetotvessem’s Lovelips app, we wrote about two months ago. And a remarkable detail – that more or less rules out the coincidence  of two great minds thinking alike – is that 72andSunny, the agency responsible for the Hardee’s app, has an office in Amsterdam. Opening up an office in Amsterdam for ‘inspiration’, now all of a sudden renders a whole new connotation.

This hilarious web film featuring Heidi Klum and Barack Obama (saying things in German like: “I am looking for a girl that likes me for who I am, not because I’m so incredibly rich”) promotes the iPhone application called Lovelips. The application – available at the App Store – translates some handy Dutch pick-up lines into the most common European languages and was created by Vanabbetotvessem. It’s no coincidence that a high percentage of the phrases involves the word ‘condom’ (“I got a condom for my birthday, you want to unwrap it with me?”), since the app was developed for SOA-AIDS Netherlands to prevent teenagers from picking up an STD when traveling abroad this summer. The pick-up lines are – purposely – pretty lame, but what a brilliant way to start a conversation. And what a modern way to address such a delicate issue!