The producer of gay porn announced a campaign this week titled, “Have Fun. Play Safe!” as a way of "eroticizing" safer-sex practices for at-risk gay men and women.
Titan Vice President Keith Webb told XBiz that the reason the campaign uses the term "safer" sex is because "safe sex is no sex at all," Webb said.
"When we talk about safer sex it's about making wise choices to minimize the transmission of HIV," Webb told XBiz.
At a cost of 10,000, the campaign will appear throughout some of the denser areas of the city where gay men and women are most likely to congregate, namely the historic Castro region of San Francisco where there is the highest influx of gay and lesbian people in the city.
The campaign will officially be done through the company's video brand name, TitanMen.com, with a projected launch date of June 1. The campaign will run throughout the month, gaining exposure during the Gay Pride Parade, and then it will make another appearance in September in time for the Castro Street Fair.
The advertising blitz will appear on bus shelters, Muni subway platform posters, and selected in-store print graphics featuring a young gay man holding a power drill with slogans like "HIV Stops with You," and "Safety First."
Titan expects that its campaign will be seen by an estimated 500,000 people.
Over time, Titan plans to roll out its ad campaign to an even broader audience by developing a safer sex public service announcement aimed at bars and nightclubs that will eventually be included in TitanMen and ManPlay DVDS, as well as a safer sex packet (SaferSeXXX) that includes a safer sex pamphlet, a latex condom, and a packet of Pjur/Eros lubricant. The packet will also be distributed along with certain DVD products from Titan.
Webb told XBiz that Titan is working with other gay studios like ChiChiClicks and others to produce the promo trailer that can be released to any studio that wants to use it, including websites that are willing to stream it to their customers.
“The current state of apathy in our community towards the use of condoms and safer sex practices is appalling,” said Webb. “We need to stand up and remind everyone that HIV/AIDS is still an issue that concerns us all. We need to help inform and educate the younger generations of gay men in HIV prevention and safer sex practices."
