Trojan: Separating the Men from the Pigs

Chauvinism is a "biased devotion to any group, attitude, or cause" (www.dictionary.com). A pig, when referring to a human, is "a person of pig-like character, behavior, or habits, as one who is gluttonous, very fat, greedy, selfish, or filthy" (www.dictionary.com). A male chauvinist pig, therefore, is a man or boy who is gluttonous, greedy, and holds a strong bias towards other men. In the new Trojan condom campaign, actual pigs are used to represent such men. The slogan, "evolve," strives to show that the man who gets the girl is the one who uses a condom: he doesn't use force in a disgusting manner to get a moan to have sex. "Choose the one who uses a condom every time."

Apparently, the ones who use condoms are quite the classy guys. In the ad, a fancy restaurant with a beautiful bar sets the mood: white furniture and a silver backdrop scream of luxury. Though the couple, placed in the middle of the ad, appears to be the focal point, your eyes first go to the pigs. Pinkish in color and shown in their full size, the pigs stand out only because they aren't humans. Their complexions and mass blend in quite well with the décor, just as the people do. Even the couple matches the clothing of the other woman, all adorned in black and white. Such unobtrusive color choices accent the pigs even more. The three yellow-like drinks seem to match the color of the text, but no color stands out. The lack of bold hues in the ad makes it easier to focus your attention on the pigs.

Three tables circle the restaurant, each table with a revolted-looking woman surrounded by pigs. The pigs, on their cell phones, sip martinis and hit on the women. This shows that they, like civilized humans, belong in the modern age; however, they have not "evolved" enough to use a condom and therefore don't get the girl. The attractive young man at the bar, though we don't see him holding a condom, has the girl's attention. She wants him, presumably because he has smarts and will be using protection; I would be with him because he's a human and not a pig. Have the other three women so little intelligence that they go to establishments where they fraternize with barnyard animals? Maybe they're hoping all the pigs will go into the bathroom, get a condom, and emerge as a hot guy.

I found this ad in Cosmopolitan, though it also appears in ten other magazines, seven websites, and on television as a running commercial. These magazines are mainly geared towards women, whom the ad is clearly speaking to: women should choose the man who uses a condom. Men who stumble across this ad may find that it urges them to use a condom if they want to get laid. As most of Cosmo focuses on sex, this ad was placed in between articles about that very subject. Sex is cool, and not getting pregnant is even cooler. This ad appeals to people of all sexual ages.

Good looking and well-off, the people in this ad dress nicely to fit in with the equally nicely dressed restaurant. The class and occupation of the pigs is unclear, but to be in this restaurant, they must have money coming from somewhere. Money attracts a lot of women; the pigs just have their looks going against them. Maybe they should be wearing white and black as well.

I have two major problems with this ad, the first being the lavish lifestyle that jumps out at you. The extravagant decoration, the expensive clothes, and the very good-looking people make it seem like you have to be that way in order to be as happy as the couple is. You also have to find a guy with a condom. That's good if you're planning on having sex, but if you're not, this ad makes it so that you feel like you have to be sexually active if you want a good life. My second and biggest problem is the whole concept of the ad campaign itself. To evolve is "to come forth gradually into being" (www.dictionary.com). This ad implies that we as humans can only develop from the primitive nature of a pig if we know to use a condom. That idea in and of itself is not a bad one, as it encourages the practice of safe sex, but when paired with the visual aspects of the ad, it loses some of its credibility. With the high-class restaurant and upscale dress of the people in it, this ad is no longer just about condoms; it suggests that using the Trojan condom will allow you to evolve into a stunning person with a decadent lifestyle. It also insinuates that if you do not use the condom, your life will be like that of a pig. While pigs are cool in movies, such as "Babe" and "Charlotte's Web," they are not so cool in real life. In fact, we eat them. Therefore, this ad actually has nothing to do with sex and condoms. What this ad is really saying is "buy our condoms, or we'll eat you." That is not very evolutionary. It could be, however, how the living pigs make enough money to go to such a fancy human restaurant.