Our Side Of The Screen: Candies v. Trojan On Preventing Teen Pregnancy

Today’s Ypulse Youth Advisory Board feature: Our Side Of The Screen is from Libby Issendorf…

Our Side Of The Screen: Candies v. Trojan On Preventing Teen Pregnancy

Brands are pouring money into TV campaigns, viral videos, and Facebook ads designed to catch Gen Y’s attention.  It’s easy for them to review impressions, click through rates, and pageviews, but what about real, unfiltered reactions?  “Our Side of the Screen” will give marketers detailed, honest opinions about marketing campaigns aimed at youth.  We’ll let you know what we loved, what we didn’t, how the campaigns made us feel about the brands, and most importantly, whether they made us do anything.

Have a campaign you’d like us to review?  Please contact the board at youthadvisoryboard at ypulse dot com.

From Juno to Jamie Lynn Spears to Bristol Palin, teen pregnancy is all over the media.  The Candie’s Foundation exists to “educate America’s youth about the devastating consequences of teen pregnancy,” and during this week’s “Gossip Girl,” it unveiled a new PSA to show teenagers the real consequences of that backseat romp. 

The ad doesn’t choose sides in the abstinence vs. contraceptives debate; it just presents pregnancy as the consequence of sex.  This tactic might scare teens, but the ad won’t succeed without a viable solution to this fear.  Candie’s needs to advocate a method of protection instead of preaching, “If you have sex, you’ll get pregnant!”

The way Jenny McCarthy pops in and the girl’s snobby attitude toward her turn Candie’s into a nagging parent.  I half-expected her to add, “And clean your room, young lady!” before the commercial ended.  Couple this tone with the unresolved scare tactic, and the commercial comes across as an empty threat that makes most teens roll their eyes.

I’m equally disappointed in the website.The first things to catch my eye are images of a lovely Jamie Lynn, a poised Bristol and Levi, and four teenage girls, two with bulging pregnant bellies, on a carefree stroll.  The photos glamorize teen pregnancy more than condemn it, and the entire site is boring and unattractive.  I can’t interact with it beyond joining a Facebook group, and the “tips for parents” section will make teens feel as though this isn’t their space.

In contrast to this lackluster effort, I love Trojan’s Evolve campaign that encourages teens to use a condom every time.  The website is incredibly attractive and easy to use.  My favorite part is the “donate 1,000,000 condoms” feature.  Teens can take a quiz, comment,and pass videos on to friends.  Then, for every action, Trojan donates condoms to Americans at risk.  So cool!

Also, Trojan understands the teenage mindset.  In the first video, they acknowledge that teens have sex—and as Josh Lucas says, “there’s nothing wrong with that, [but] there’s not necessarily anything right with that either.” Trojan come across as concerned but not parental.  The facts they present are scary (like how 1 in 4 teenage girls has an STI).  However, unlike Candie’s, Trojan emphasizes a clear solution: condoms. On its own, no PSA will be enough to change teens’ behavior, but Evolve’s entertaining videos and interactive features will definitely facilitate conversation among teens.  That’s a great first step toward taking action.  Nice work, Trojan.

P.S. The best Trojan video I saw is “The Quarrel.”  Be sure to watch until the end; it’s hilarious!

About Libby Issendorf

After growing up on a farm in North Dakota, Libby Issendorf moved to Minneapolis to attend the University of Minnesota.  She discovered her passion for brands and media as a member of her school’s first-place National Student Advertising Competition team.  After graduation in 2008, she began her career as a media analyst at an advertising agency.  Libby works on media placement and targeting for national brands like General Mills and Land O Lakes.  Outside of work, she loves blogging, playing sports, consuming gratuitous amounts of pop culture, the Minnesota Twins, being really geeky with her iPhone, and driving to see her boyfriend, who lives too far away.