Just when you think you’ve seen it all, in terms of provocative teen pregnancy prevention PSA’s, Serve has done it again. This time with their new campaign for the United Way of Greater Milwaukee, titled, “Sex Myths.”
The effort is designed to start a conversation between parents and youth about sex and the many myths surrounding teen pregnancy. The campaign features kids proliferating many sex myths, and depicts them spreading throughout a school without any attempt to debunk or call into question the validity of the myths.
“You can’t get pregnant if we have sex in a hot tub,” advises one boy to the teen girl he is talking to. Another teen says assuredly, “you can’t get pregnant if you use your sister’s birth control.” One even goes as far as saying he heard “Mountain Dew lowers your sperm count.” A super then implores parents to talk to their kids about sex, because if they aren’t, then someone else is.
The goal of the campaign is to reinforce the point with parents that the first line of defense against teen pregnancy is keeping kids informed about sex. And when kids aren’t informed, misinformation and myths about sex spread.
The heavily digital and social media-based campaign, features an interactive YouTube quiz and website, heavy social media promotion on Facebook and Twitter. Teens and their parents will be encouraged to contribute to the discussion using the hashtag #SexMyths. Users will then be encouraged to share the videos and visit GetTheSexFacts.com for more information on the campaign. Other elements of the campaign include :30 and :15 TV spots, and bus shelters.
The multi-pronged campaign is the latest tactic in the United Way-led Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative. Milwaukee’s teen birth rate has dropped 35% in the past 5 years to historically low levels.