gnumatt

Delivering a clear message

I ran around downtown Huntsville and Monte Sano and Green mountain taking pictures today. It was a really great day. I do have one picture that I thought was particularly funny and important to share.

Abstinence - The Choice of a New Generation

Apparently the Madison Count Schools CARE Project bought lots of billboards promoting abstinence and marriage. Uhh why? Teen pregnancy was already declining without this ham handed ad campaign. During the Reagan 80s teen pregnancy increased 27%, during the Clinton 90s teen pregnancy dropped to record lows, according to this report. The highest rates of teen pregnancy came during the sexy Eisenhower administration in 1957. Personally I credit the emphasis on personal responsibility that secular humanism promotes versus the bacchanalian folly/guilty purges that Southern christians promote. Is it just me or are Baptists just shy of porn stars when it comes to being obsessed with sex?

Now lets talk about some of the design choices here. It’s got a big blue A. Hmm, a big letter A branded on something sure reminds me of “The Scarlet Letter.” Not a really positive association to create. I can hear the high school english students now “So she was kicked out of the town for being abstinent?” Oh and they’ve cleverly co-opted the word “choice” from the “pro choice” movement. There again a confusing association to make regarding abstaining from sex. I suppose their use of “The choice of a new generation” is meant as satire towards Pepsi and therefore indemnifies them from lawsuits. What’s up with all the different type faces and text treatments? Did someone just get Print Shop? You’ve got two slogans here, simplify and pick just one. I’ve also got issues with the yellow/white backgrounds.

I’m working on a new billboard with stick figure cartoons to illustrate the message here. I’m driving 70 miles an hour I don’t have time to read. Give me pictures. We’ll see if I figure out a way to get my sketches scanned in.

Listening: Frontier Psychiatrist - The Avalanches