The sticky note sex Public Service announcements I wrote about earlier this year were funny. Something that further exemplifies the difference American and German comfort levels with sex are the billboards I found all over Trier on our visit in August. These frank and straightforward advertisements are indicative of both typical German personality traits as well as the fact that in Germany sex is a subject like any other and therefore does not need to be hidden or discussed in code. So, without further adieu I present to you:
THE (not so) SEXY PSA BILLBOARDS FROM TRIER, GERMANY
“When your crotch burns. Go to the doctor.”
“Amazingly simple. Use condoms.”
(since I can’t find my pictures of the other billboards, I will show you the rest of the advertising campaign courtesy of http://www.liebesleben.de/)
“When the movie becomes secondary. Use condoms.”
“Crotch burning? Go to the doctor.”
“Your ex still bothering you? Go to the doctor.”
“When it itches down there. Go to the doctor.”
“[Doesn’t matter] If up or down. Use condoms.”
The Liebes Leben Campaign
On a serious note, the Liebes Leben (Love Life) campaign is a very in-depth effort by the Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung (basically: Public Information of the Health Department) to make information about STDs and their prevention as available as possible, and get people to think about it. Once called “Gib AIDS keine chance” (Don’t give AIDS a chance), the printed materials and the website are an expansive source for everything from STD symptom checklist and personal recommendations to condom size chart.
Fact Sheets:
Germerican Denglish 