A Different Perspective: Zazoo Condoms

Oftentimes, advertisements are used to show how their products or services essentially help save the day because of their uses. But there are just as many ads that attempt to show you, scare you, and persuade you when you see the results of what happens when the the characters in their ads DON'T use the product. This ad for the Belgian based Zazoo Condom brand uses this method in a morbid satire of what happens when you don't use their products. The ad has, quite understandably, been banned in several regions throughout the world, including the United States, for its questionable and downright nihilistic take on a complex issue. But as ridiculous as it may seem, the ad effectively grabs its consumers by showing the effects of what supposedly happens when their products aren't used.

The ad starts off in a grocery market, which serves as the setting for the entirety of the turn of events. Immediately, the setting overwhelms you with a bleak tone. The usually vibrant colors of the products within the supermarket are dulled intensely through the use of lighting, and nobody within the store seems to have any inclination to crack a smile. We are immediately introduced to the two main characters of this little play; a young father and his son. The father serves as the silent and tragic protagonist, and his role is explained through his actions and expressions, not his words. He seems normal, though from an educated guess one might assume that he is economically maladjusted and may be a single parent. His son, a stubborn, disobedient, and seemingly bratty child, serves as the antagonist throughout the entire story.

It begins with the boy taking a bag of candy from its designated shelf and placing it in the cart. The father, apparently unable to pay for such luxuries, puts it back on the shelf, thereby initiating the conflict. The young boy frowns, and openly defies his father by putting it back into the cart, showing his insubordinate side. When the father puts it back on the shelf once more, the boy begins screaming his apparent need for the candy. When the father tries to calm him down, he flies into a temper tantrum. He runs off, throwing products off the shelf and kicking and screaming on the floor. As he draws the attention of the other people present in the store, the father can only stand and watch in wordless embarrassment. And when all is said and done, the "value" expressed in the ad as well as the link to the product finally flashes across the screen.

"Use condoms."

That sort of rhetoric is not exactly a common one In fact, it's very doubtful that the father or even any of the people observing would think of such a such a thing, unless they were in a particularly foul mood. While the father could potentially solve this issue by being more assertive to his child and disciplining him, the ad suggests that the issue could have been nipped in the bud if he had simply worn a condom on the night that ultimately lead to the birth of the young boy. A large part of the humor in this ad is how it seems to immediately take things to extremes. and how ridiculous those extremes are shown to be.

Of course, the ad is probably intended to be a comedic and satirical play sexualized world. But at the same time, it is also meant to scare the members of its target audience: young men who do not yet know the possible outcome of their habits. The message is quite simple. If you don't use condoms or other methods of safe sex provided by this company, the folly of this tragic hero could just as easily happen to you. Of course, the ad is rather insensitive over circumstances, and strategically ignores the possible benefits of having a child even out of wedlock. It also doesn't seem to place much worth in family values, which no doubt caused alarm with many observers. But even so, the dark comedic value of the ad has attracted quite a bit of attention, while the persuasive tactics of the ad may have implanted a sense of fear in the demographic it chose to target.