Australia's Most Complained About Safe Sex Ad Campaign Returns


The "Rip & Roll" safe-sex advertising campaign that was pulled down after complaints from Christian last year will return in the Australian state of Queensland later this month.

From Herald Sun.
Healthy Communities says its posters will appear from Sunday in 35 bus shelters in inner Brisbane and will also be plastered on billboards at Surfers Paradise, Townsville, Cairns, Capalaba in Brisbane's east and Albion in Brisbane's north.
The poster features a condom and three fully clothed gay men who pose in a non-sexual, friendly manner.
  
Healthy Communities executive director Paul Martin says he hasn't planned for this year's ad to be controversial but he's ready if the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) campaigns against it again. 
"We've designed the advert to be as subtle as possible," Mr Martin told AAP.
"Last year we didn't think there was any reason for the ACL to get upset and this year we don't think so either. 
"But what gets them going, who knows? 
"Safe sex is something that constantly needs to be reinforced and it's also important that we do show that we haven't been scared off." 
The ACL launched a mass campaign against last year's ad which featured a gay couple hugging in a friendly way, with one holding a condom. 
The ad was the most complained about in Australia, with the Advertising Standards board receiving 222 complaints. 
Advertising company Adshel pulled the posters down but put them back up again days later after accepting that the ACL had "orchestrated" a push to remove the ad. 
A Facebook campaign also helped Adshel reverse its decision after it gathered 90,000 fans.
Despite Healthy Communities (which promotes the health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Queenslanders) being in operation for 28 years, the new conservative state government in May pulled its $2.5 million in annual grants to the organisation. 
Health Minister Lawrence Springborg said at the time that public health policy was failing, with HIV diagnosis doubling during the past decade in Queensland. 
Two Healthy Communities staff were made redundant on Friday and the not-for-profit organisation will turn to fundraising to keep running. 
The government has redirected its funding into a new Ministerial Advisory Committee.
Mr Martin said he hoped the governing Liberal National Party (LNP) would not run scare campaigns about HIV. 
"Shame, fear or blame doesn't work," he said. 
"What the Australian and international research shows is that the most effective way to do HIV prevention is to do work with affected communities and do peer education." 
In 2010 an estimated 3400 people were living with HIV in Queensland, according to state government figures.