With big thanks to Reader Minty for the tip, here are two rather delightful and touching French AIDS-Awareness spots created by director Wilfrid Brimo in 3D cell-shaded animation. Each ad begins with childhood and budding awareness of sexuality, and follows our protagonists on their sexual journey, with fantastical shifts from scene to scene. The first, from 2005, is “The Right One,” in which a girl romps through a series of exhilirating and disappointing encounters:
The second, “Boy Love” (2006) features a young gay boy and his trials and travails as he looks for love, again with a cheerful and uplifting soundtrack (“Sugar Baby Love” by the Rubettes). The penis rollercoaster is incredibly charming.
Each spot ends with the message: “Vivez assez longtemps pour trouver le bon,” or, “Live long enough to find the right one.”
August 4, 2008 at 3:12 pm
Oh I LOVE THESE!
Especially the tiny flying penises.
August 4, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Quite possibly the most enjoyable commercials ever! :)
August 4, 2008 at 3:52 pm
The winged peens above their heads are the best!
August 4, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Awwww….
August 4, 2008 at 4:38 pm
A cameo of cartoon Freddy Mercury!?
The French win.
August 4, 2008 at 5:27 pm
J’adore!
August 4, 2008 at 5:36 pm
These are so adorable. I’m glad the French aren’t so shit-scared of gay love. But, where’s the lez version? The one where the young baby dyke gets hurt by the experimenting straight girl? They need to make that one happen.
August 4, 2008 at 5:59 pm
@BDJ: Good point. And one for the straight boys. Let’s be fair; we all suffer a lot in the early days of wandering through the sexual wilderness. And the middle aged, and the old. The fairy tale end of the clips are sweet, and heartening, but believe me, life doesn’t end at 30. Neither do heartbreak or problems.
But thanks for this. Again, you guys are blossoming as a site, and as a collective mindset. Blown away again, sisters.
August 4, 2008 at 6:32 pm
BTW, the gay sex/safe sex one was the most educational sex video I’ve ever seen.
August 4, 2008 at 6:37 pm
HAHAHA! I pulled a condom over my college roomie’s head too!
August 4, 2008 at 7:20 pm
For all their quirks, when the French get it right – it’s REALLY good and it’s classic!
August 4, 2008 at 9:04 pm
I’m sorry, but when I saw Wilfred Brimo, I thought “you know, these should really be PSAs about diabeetus.”
August 4, 2008 at 9:51 pm
I have the song from the boy video in my head now and it WILL NOT GO AWAY!!!
August 5, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Um Also? GOOD GOD?! Where do I find a smoking hot doctor with silver frosted hair? Is it wrong for me to be sexually attracted to fictional gay animated characters?
August 5, 2008 at 1:45 pm
@SouthernSatine: It’s never wrong. The fanboy/girl empire would be devastated otherwise. You think little boys everywhere weren’t slayed by Jessica Rabbit and Laura Croft? The hot doc is worthy of your lust.
August 6, 2008 at 1:01 am
These were gorgeous messages. I love “live long enough to find the right one”.
August 7, 2008 at 9:19 pm
I think messages about sex like theses will be the future of sex education around the world, but especially in the United States. I’ve noticed this attitude shift in regards to education (Planned Parenthood) but also in condom companies.
One Condoms for example (onecondoms.com) takes what I believe is a more laid back, yet responsible approach to condoms. The packaging is discreet yet colorful, featuring a usually innocuous picture. They also donate 5% of sales to the One Voice Foundation which encourages open, medically accurate dialog between people about sex.