The French Protection

For a few days this week, you could see this ad coming out of Métro Belleville:

It reads, "Condoms protect against AIDS" and I'll let you figure out the rest. This is a good example of the different standard of propriety that applies to French ads. Lots of near-nudity, lots of suggestive prose, tackling the tough issues, it's all good. No abstinence-only education here.

This ad is actually one in a series. Here are the two other versions:

It turns out you can make your own (if you're so inclined) by going to the Têtu website. Just put in your name, the number of capotes, and upload a picture, et voilà! You're fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS. Or so the website claims.

While that might be a little weird, you have to give the French government credit for backing up words with deeds. Within Métro Belleville (as well as many other Métro stations) you'll find condom vending machines:

Notice on the left side of the machine it translates condoms as "préservatifs" (rather than capotes, which is more informal). Keep this in mind if you ever come to France and end up talking about food preservation. The phrase you want to use is "agents de conservation" - saying "préservatifs" will only confuse everyone.