Making condoms cooler through cellphones

It’s definitely an out of box and innovative idea, and could be just what is needed to make the word ‘condom’ more socially acceptable in India. The BBC World Service Trust has launched a condom ringtone for cellphones, a 45 second short which repeats the word condom over and over again [via BBC World Service Trust]

The latest phase of our campaign to normalise condom use in India the BBC World Service Trust has just launched a mobile phone ringtone campaign to promote the use of condoms.

The ringtone campaign is part of a wider mass media campaign by BBC World Service Trust to prevent transmission of HIV in India and highlight safe sex practices. The project is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

While TV, Radio and Print are used widely for socially-relevant messaging, this is probably the first time the cellphone ringtones are being used as a medium for creating awareness on a social issue. This is clearly a smart move, given that as of June 2008, a stunning 25% of India’s population had access to a cellphone.

Check out the video below. You can also download the ringtone here.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hv0BDNryX84]