An Advertising & Branding Project
ADIBA MUZAFFAR & NIHAR APTE Design for Business ∙ Beyond Prettiness
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H L E D THE
S Y O B
1.
HI ADIBA MUZAFFAR I passed out of DPS RK Puram in 2010. Yes, the famous MMS scandal waala school. And as much as that event should have counted as the first trigger for me to have searched ‘porn’ with some motivation- I was unsuccessful in being able to find the clip and entirely understand what was making the world frown so much. At that time I was in Class VII or VIII and happily in the blind about what sex (or even intimacy) really was. A school friend had vaguely fed me sexual imagery on the last final exam before the summer break in Class IV. We had just reached the first notable milestone in life at that point- we’d written all 7 exams in pen ink. While
we were still basking in that glory, Gita Jain broke the spell and spoke to us about s-e-x. I still remember that she summoned me and two other girls in a huddle and told us that babies are made accidentally. She immediately left us to choose between believing her or confronting our parents about it. She knew too little to defend herself for too long, and we were all too confused to ask anything. She brought a book to school the next day and without letting any of us touch it, took us through the small hard-bound Kamasutra (it had very beautifully laid illustrations). She had sourced it from her parent’s library, without them knowing- so this little exhibit spent two awkward minutes
with us before being quickly shoved back into her bag. There was no school for the next two months, and so there died the scope for enquiry. While I was left worrying that I shook hands and lent pencils to too many boys unknowingly, the Kamasutra was safely planted back in its spot. Gita Jain was my best friend for the next two years (I think we had good handwriting and a love for stationery in common) but we eventually drifted apart (because she told too many non-veg jokes that bothered me). My schooling never really let me feel that there was much of a difference between the two genders. The environment I grew up in was so enthused with a need for self discovery and compounding talent, that as a student I did seek to make a difference with what we were taught. I was pro-active but shy, so I would take up background tasks and artwork rather than going on stage and talking into a mic confidently. This being my nature, it drew me to introverts (or vice versa); making me build a friend circle of conservative, clean talking, bookish close friends. It sounds like a lie as I say this, but I never spoke to anyone about sex in school. If there was ever talk about it, I would either excuse myself or sit behind this shield of an idea that sex was something unhygienic. I have an elder sister who went to the same school as me in these pivotal years. I would hear about the things that would happen in her class- girls
dating, bunking, pinning their skirts etc. and find nothing worth intrigue in these strange choices. Even when those around me started to pick up these influences, it all had not much of an effect on me. And so when someone asked me out and I began to date was when I came to realise how unprepared I was; and how surprisingly disjointed my active mind was from my body. This is a coming of age project for both of us. Through the 6 months of work on this project, one clear stand has been taken about the kind of adults we want to be, the kind of attitudes we want to hold and promote. Something about parenting has a way of compelling an adolescent into some self grooming before they make more of themselves. This project made us look at our generation as those caught in a day and age that sprints at a furiously liberal pace, learning from risks and thrills rather than experiences from around them.
NIHAR APTE I was educated in Noida. Yes, the dirt of the Rape Capital of our Country. Everyone out here was out to prove their masculinity. The size of their pride and ego was directly proportionate to the size of their muscles. You were the coolest if you managed to shut someone up in an argument either by actually winning or mostly just by spewing out some ‘gaalis’ (expletives) from your mouth endlessly till the person in front loses interest and walks away which was assumed to be a victory of the ‘cool boy’. The jocks were also among the loved and wanted ones in school. It was so cool to have an athletic body and whack a few sixes or score a couple of goals on the ground. The girls on the other hand were busy being sexy in their own way. Playing games and sports and hanging out with boys who could bully and beat up whoever messed with them.
Rebellion to protect their social and body image was another form of being popular. I on the other hand just watched this sexy circus and imploded with extreme reactions. Peer pressure played a great role in me going ahead and making a fool out of myself and understanding what I wasn’t capable of. I tried to beat up people but ended up just embarrassing them by ripping their uniforms apart. I tried to be the rude guy but I knew very few insults to fling at people back then. I was guided through impressing a girl and did sappy things just to find that she liked someone else. I also dated a girl but that just ended up being weird cause I was trying to live up to my responsibility of being a man than being the moment and enjoying the relationship. I tried to play basketball and was fairly good at it but mostly found myself to be either really very slow or have lack of
interest in achieving anything in this game. Well in class? We just giggled looking at diagrams of penises and vaginas and that one illustration of a girl and a guy making out in our 8th standard biology test book. Friends giggled and made jokes about these things. Initially I laughed too but compared to the other kinds of humor I like, I started to find this lame very soon. What I definitely followed was the code language where you replaced Penis for Pen or Pencil and replaced Testis with Balls and the girls breasts had become Basketballs. I slowly grew tired of this too. I mean after a point who would bother to borrow a pencil by calling it a ‘Writing Pencil’ or getting subjected to questions like “Kaunsi Pencil?” as a response to a request to borrow a pencil. Exposure to porn through news reports and excited friends was another mind-blowing experience. I had learnt about regular sexual intercourse from school but anal sex and oral sex was absolutely ridiculous. All my friends spoke about and shared with each other their massive porn collection which seemed redundant to me back then. I never understood why one would watch a 20 min video of a girl and a guy just having sex. I will also not deny a short lived porn addiction phase which I went through myself. I had never had sex in my life but somewhere deep down knew that it was all fake and unreal and hence my porn addiction faded out soon. I remember my friend trying to show
me an MMS video of a sex scandal that happened in Adiba’s school. I refused straight away. I longed to meet people who cracked jokes about it once in a while but didn’t over obsess and make it part of their vocabulary. I concluded that I clearly was not interested enough and didn’t have the physical ability to prove myself to be ‘man enough’ for this school. This also drove me to question myself, “What if I’m actually a girl? What if everything I’m told about being a boy is all just a lie?” There was a strong feeling of exclusion running inside me and a hope that someday I will be in a place where I won’t need any of this to prove who I am. There was definitely a strong urge to move away from the people I was surrounded by and become friends with more liberal and light hearted people.
WHY THIS PROJECT
ADIBA MUZAFFAR
I was quite impressed and impacted by short film length ads doing the rounds, with a new kind of advertising emerging- where the branding was done more experientially. There were plenty of ads of this nature using YouTube visibility rather than the conventional channel of televising their persuasions. These short films would focus on showing how some products imprint themselves on our lives rather than pursuing us to become consumers. These were mostly big brands tuning in on the mutual loyalty that has been maintained over the years. I started to realise that this kind of advertising is not self-brandishing yet very effective in understanding the viewer and what strikes a chord. Simultaneously I was looking at successful online campaigns and why they work for the users of this generation. These campaigns use the new, active user, planting themselves where this new user chooses to be for both work and leisure. The ad that just made the
decision (to work on a campaign) for me was one without a product for the market. It was an incredibly creative PSA by Ogilvy and Mather. The Seatbelt Crew video shows a flashmob with a crew of transsexuals dressed in neatly mocked air-hostess uniforms, blessing the drivers and passengers in traffic, seat belting them with wisdom. I wanted to take up this challenge and use my film sensibilities on something with an impact of such a kind.
NIHAR APTE Joining Srishti really opened me up a lot as a person. I started talking a lot more and becoming more social. Interacting with people here was fun and I felt like I had finally found a place where I could be comfortable about whoever I am and grow. But there was still one thing I was really shy about. While people here seemed
to loudly crack sexual jokes, I found it hard to I found it hard to do that. I knew there was nothing wrong with it but had this inner fear of going overboard with the jokes and crossing the line of light comedy and insult. So I just decided to refrain from having discussions in that zone.
PROJECT
Under Design for Business, I opted to be a part of the course Beyond Prettiness. This course was an Advertising project We had to choose one out of these three as products: 1. Online Portal for Men’s high end garments. 2. Sea Buckthorn cosmetics. 3. Liquor-Flavored Condoms.
NIHAR APTE When the option of choosing this project came my way, I felt like I would be forced to talk and get comfortable with the social idea of sex. I felt like it was high time I got comfortable talking about it with other people and learning to put some sexual humour on as well. I had the option of doing campaigns for fairness creams and garment stores but doing a campaign for condoms just felt like an exciting leap towards growing up and becoming completely mature.
ADIBA MUZAFFAR I already had sex education playing board games in my head after the ridiculous event of a ban declared in Delhi- a ban on sex education in schools. I even thought of kits to give out in schools, ways in which such a board game can slowly enter the home-space and trigger the conversation about sex and sexuality with parents looking somewhat sharp in the picture. For me a condom and that too Liquor Flavoured seemed like a challenging way to find myself a more focussed field i the vast topic of sex.
WHERE OUR INTERESTS LAY ADIBA MUZAFFAR
Nihar and I have never been in a class together in the four years at college. And I have never been in a class or a course on Advertising. But from the first day itself both of us realised our common interest and fascination for the Liquor Flavoured Condoms brief read out in class. We, with Devika (who also chose the Condoms brief) started our research together. Nihar and I realising soon enough that we both want the condom to be more than it is functionally. We took a pledge to make sex education our direction and went ahead as a team as long as possible.
NIHAR APTE
Ive been studying advertising for a year and a half now and had a fair idea of the process. My main interest, more than the fact that id get to do an ad campaign myself was in the condoms. I didnt know what it was. I didnt speak about it myself and hence was completely uncomfortable about the topic and bringing it up in front of other poeple. My inner voice really badly wanted to craxk jokes and talk loudly about sex but my mouth wasnt allowing it so surface. I found a fellow lost individual who seemed pretty comfortable and open and comfortable talkig about sex and so i latched on.....
H C R A E RES
2.
MARKET RESEARCH Nihar and I (still so young then) were at the freshest of the giggleridden realisation that our project revolves around s-e-x. We went into Truth or Dare mode, daring ourselves to go buy a condom as a couple. While walking upto the pharmacy, we made all sorts of jokes and claims, entertaining the idea of this little act where we would totally take the pharmacist by surprise with our unusual condom demands and unabashedness.
ASS ASSUMPTIONS
1. We as individuals are confident about asking for condoms at a pharmacy and the shyness lies on the other side of the counter. 2. Males do the condom purchase. 3. The employees at pharmacies get scandalised and are unhelpful and judgemental. We were absolutely wrong about our sense of confidence as once we reached there, we just stood outside giggling for a nice fifteen minutes before finally entering as a group of students itself, asking questions for ‘project research’. The Pharmacist was not at all shy or judgemental. He displayed all the condoms he had in store and spoke to us about buyers, price differences and how the employees at these stores are trained to pick up on the body language of a buyer in store. Clearly we were not ready ourselves.
NEWFOUND CONFIDENCE But we picked up. We spoke and spoke. First to each other and then to anyone we would chance upon. We got dangerously comfortable, taking up the topic anywhere and everywhere, crossing lines (possibly) but interesting offending nobody. The questions became questions of intrigue and thanks to the kind of community the Srishti Community happens to be, the questions became artistic enquiries. We had friends tagging us in any and every post related to sex and condoms, our research getting rich with these shares and discussions.
ONLINE RESEARCH
Just like any other research process, our first step was online research. We looked up Indian advertising and packaging of condoms but all we found was either women posing in revealing clothes or a really steamy make out session. No condom brand seemed to treat sex like something normal and portrayed in such a way that its only meant for really confidant and good looking indivuduals. The reality on the other hand is that sex is a natural process and is important for every individual to carry on his or her kind. This only means that sex is something that should be accessible to everyone but due to select few people in athority, it has been communicated to people to be a taboo.
EXPERIMENTS 1. THE POSTER SURVEY We decided that we need some ice-breaking exercises to be able to gauge the reality around condoms and behaviours surrounding them. Our first agenda became the conversation about being sexually active/ users of condoms. We wanted to see how open people are in answering questions about their sex lives. We put up our ‘Kya Aapne Kabhi Sex Kiya Hai?’ poster with a tally marks survey sheet under the poster Another angle we were interested in probing back then was if ‘Mummy ko pata hai?’. This was definitely still the time when we were confusing sex content with sex consent.
2. THE IMPROMPTERVIEWS We took an impromptu decision on a public holiday to cycle around various parts of the city and interview people on the road, point blank. We wanted to do this to be sure of opinions held by people at large, coming from different cultural and educational setups with varying liberal views. Asking them at random, with just the initial request of if they had a few minutes to answer some questions. We did this to also gain access to their immediate, unguarded reactions to questions about sex education. Our questions were all trying to make these adolescents think about the issue as future parents. The following few pages will take you through the question that came to our mind and the responses we got from the people we spoke to.
Questionnaire #1
SEX EDUCATION Did you get, will you give?
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Did you receive sex education in school? Was it effective? Did your parents take up the talk at home? Was their approach open? What was covered in this talk? Do you parents know about your sex life? What do you think about the ban on sex education in India?
RESPONSES
“Girls and boys shouldn’t be educated separately. This is the reason why when they grow up, uninformed about the full picture- excited hormones cause trouble.” “We cannot directly expose the kid to sex. They should be told about things gradually, probably starting with good and bad touch.” “Questions related to sex come up early in the form of the question ‘Where do babies come from?’. Kids should be told about the different aspects of sex and sexuality in stages, steadily. It can’t all
be summed up in just one paragraph in a chapter in school, or in an odd conversation at home.” “After a certain point, one starts to find out things and wonder why your parents didn’t tell you. We just know that it makes us definitely want to tell our kids.” “Parents should be their child’s best friend, speaking to them about every kind of issue that they may face. The problem lies in the fact that kids are unable to communicate in a setting where the topic is deemed taboo.”
Questionnaire #2
CONTEXUAL RESEARCH Mothers : How did you tell your child.
1. What sort of topics do you frequent when you catch up with your young adult? (Relationships, Dating, Health and Lifestyle, Plans and Career Matters, Studies and Everyday well-being.) 2. Do you have a healthy communication with your young adult? Did you initiate it? 3. Was there an event that initiated the communication? 4. At what age did you feel the need to talk to your kid about sexuality?
5. Which topics were of value, in your assessment post such talk? 6. In which order did you take up different sexual issues, and at what age were these talks delivered? 7. Have you openly spoken to your young adult about intercourse? 8. Are you aware about his/ her sex life? If not, why?�
RESPONSES Chithra Iyer “Parents just need to know not to make a big deal out of sex. It’s matter of fact. Make it a big deal and there you’ve given your child something to hide. Matters of concern need to be covered with the child. Avoiding molesters, the need to report bad experiences. Also, it’s best to just tell them as and when things become relevant. My older daughter found a box of condoms once and enquired. I didn’t tell her what they were but I told her that they belonged to Dad. I first spoke to her about being careful to know the difference between good and bad touch. She was in Class IV. I took up this talk early as my profession demanded a lot of travel then. I also spoke to her about the probability of affectionate touch being discomforting sometimes. Uncles and Brothers being affectionate is fine, but if you dislike the way they touch you- you ought to let Mumma know. An early conversation about our sex life happened as we indirectly let them know that we will sometimes lock the door and expect them to respect our privacy. About Babies: They asked me. I drew diagrams and told them and they said ‘YUCK’. But I told them that ‘with someone you love, it’s perfectly okay to make babies.’
My younger daughter was quick with finding her first boyfriend. I told her that she should be careful and be able to say no if she isn’t ready for something. I told her that she can talk to me about anything that concerns her and always practice safe sex. I myself never had sex before marrying my husband, but I am open to the idea of pre-marital sex. Times have changed. I had heard a friends story- a young girl had gotten herself pregnant and even aborted the child without letting her mother know a thing. This story shook me up and I wanted none of this. When my younger daughter was shifting abroad for higher education, I took her to a gynac and also spoke to a gynac in UK (a friend) to keep a check on my baby. My husband is usually not a part of these talks, for the comfort of the girls. But he is open and approachable by nature. I look at sex as a basic need. I don’t see the big issue that so many do with homosexuality. Whatever my children might be, my own they remain. All through the growing years parents tell their daughtersNO BOYS! Then if you bring home your girlfriend and declare yourself a Lesbian, NO GIRLS!”
One should have pets at home. When our dogs would hump each other, the girls would ask me, ‘Yeh kya kar rahe hain?’ I told them simply ki, ‘Babies bana rahe hain.’ Cats delivered babies, so the girls saw the moment of delivery as well. Your child should not feel guilty about anything. Even when it comes to Masturbation- there should be no negative feeling. They should know they can do it as long as they do it privately. I just learnt over time that the more open I am, just as open my child will be able to be. These things are for life. Parents who are prudish, who refrain from being expressive about affection among themselves too, they are just being unnatural.”
Payal Singhal
“India’s sexual health awareness is under developed. The subject of sex ought to be dealt with before the child goes to college. Parents must not take sex lightly, as a subject. See, we can’t stop them from having sex. Everyone is having sex. Use contraception and don’t pick up diseases. Message kept simple. I did not go into too many details with my children. I just made sure that they are aware and knows how to be responsible. I don’t think that kids listen these days anyway. Pre-marital sex has become a trend over time. I taught my daughter the biology class content at home. So I went over the details then itself.
She never asked me anything. Everything is available online, so kids ask no more. I spoke to my daughter about menstruation and made myself available at all times. Being a gynac, my daughter knows I am there. I meet very young girls patients. Hardly anyone uses contraception these days. I see a lot of patients who come to her requesting pregnancy termination. I don’t want these scares.”
Rajashree Wad
“I didn’t stumble upon anything. Nothing like that. I just spoke to my daughter openly when she began to date. We haven’r spoken about sex, just about relationships. Being a teacher, I relate to students and understand both my son and daughter. I have casual conversations with them, and we throw around questions, share the students’ problems I hear about. We discuss what we think is okay and what isn’t. My daughter openly asks me questions. Some things are shared as indirect hints. Let’s say there is an intimate scene in a movie on TV; your kid picks up the discomfort that you feel. So your behaviour is what you need to watch before anything else. Intimacy obviously builds up. It’s casual and everybody reaches that point. Films are the best way. They show you how things go.
I didn’t tell them that this is inappropriate and this isn’t. It was easy with my daughter. She has open conversations with me. My daughter sometimes stops me, if I inch closer to topics that she doesn’t want to talk about. She makes the limits clear and I respect that. I have although made homosexuality to be a topic that I myself am not comfortable with. I find it repulsive and I think that I can’t deal with it like expected. I told my kids that I find it hard to accept. My son once asked me “What if your own daughter had a girlfriend? Would it make you love her less?” I told him that I just know that something would change. It would difficult for me to cope.” My son has a girlfriend now. We all know what we did when we were young, we should be okay with our children doing the same. I talk about myself and how/who I was back in college. Must not be embarrassed. Just talk about all these things freely. Boys are different deal. I talk to him and try to ensure that he respects the other gender. I have told him that he needs to know his limits. Making jokes makes the conversation lighter. My husband does that too. But as much as they encourage these discussions, we also know to respect their privacy. Morality? everyone has the right to decide for themselves- what their morals are. I accept that there will be more than one boyfriend/girlfriend as the modern
day trend. Live-in relationships were unheard of earlier but in today’s day that too is a trend. The part you have to play, the moves. I’m not going to tell them those! It all comes naturally. Nobody told Adam and Eve nothing. Just let your kid be around when there is a birth in a family- one just marvels and learns. Natural education is the best approach, unless there are complications. That could be scarring. But never hide. People try things on their own. Your child will come back to you, if you make them respect things. And then you can feel secure. Parents shouldn’t try to rule the lives of their kids. There is enough material out there now- magazines, books, porn films. It’s inevitable that they will find this information. If marketed well, a product could become something useful for the passage of information. I thinks that a book would work best. It might not become something the parent and the child will read together- that is unlikely. But it could make a great gift.”
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH We conducted a quantitative research where we sent an online survey to various people. This was a survey was conducted to understand peoples general sexual health and their general opinions related to it. We managed to get 87 responses and what we learnt somewhat reinforced our assump tions but also cleared a lot of misconceptions for us. We assumed that people didnt know too much about condoms and were uncomfortable talking about it. We were proved wrong and found that a fair portion of our sample size was aware about condoms and were comfortable talking about it. We found that the Condom was infact the most popular form of contraception since it was widely available, had no hormonal side effects and is really cheap. This research helped us understand about the gender roles in soceity
regarding the purchase of condoms. We learnt that in most cases it was the men who went out to the store and bought the condoms all the time whereas the women were given the privilege to stay away from this seemingly shameful act to be able to have safe and protected sex. While doing our online research, we had found that Durex was slightly different in terms of its market positioning. They were open in terms of their advertising and made connection with sex accross various walks of life. They also didnt make it look like sex was only meant for well shaped individuals because of their packaging. Our research confirmed it for us that talking about sex noramlly and openly is the key to a wide spread and a strong brand image instead of secluding people who would shy away on seeing the advertising or packaging of the other condoms in the market.
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH The stuff you know. (18-25 Year Olds)
“For a summative understanding of what you know about sex, where from and how sure you are. This survey intends to get an understanding of what really could constitute good sex education.Especially in the home setting. [P.S.- This form allows you to go back and forth on your answers. Nothing is set in stone.] Name (You may lie.) Age (Don’t lie this time.) Location. (Location of upbringing.) Sex. At School. [The education as prescribed for you.] 1. What were you first taught about sex in school?Themes. • About Puberty
• About Good/Bad Touch • About Hormones & Attraction • About Sexual Health Matters 2. When was this? Age/ Grade. What was your level of embarassment? Not at all.1
2 3 4 5.Extreme
3. What was your source or motivation? • Biology class covered everything. • Friends exposed you to initial insights. • Library books.
• Curiosity built on behaviours around you.
• Cousins/Relatives • Others
4. Was there a separate sex education curriculum? • Yes • No • Partially
4. How effective was this interaction?
5. If yes, how effectively were the topics covered?Feel free to elaborate. 6. Any event/incident that stands out from this time/context?Feel free to elaborate. At Home. [The dinner-table education.] 1. What were you first taught about sex at home?Themes. • About Puberty. • About Good/Bad Touch. • About Hormones/ Attraction. • About Sexual Health Matters. 2. When was this?Age/ Grade. 3. Was there a trigger that started the talk?A situation/ blunder/awkward moment. Who became your source? • Sibling • Parent • Neighbours • Friends
5. Feel free to elaborate. You can talk about each theme separately. 6.How free did you feel in this interaction? Not a word .12345. Highly comfortable. 7. Any event/incident that stands out from this time/ context? At your own risk. [The education credited to your curiosity.] 1. When did you take it in your own hands to get your doubts sorted?(By approaching a source of information/person.) 2. What was your approach? 3. What did you seek to know? 4. What was your level of embarassment? 5. Where did you find your answers? • Internet. • Books/Magazines • Films.
• •
Forums. Music.
6. Did you feel the need to cover your tracks?Clear search history/make it all about someone else. • Yes • No • Partially 7. Any event/incident that stands out from this time/context?Feel free to elaborate. 8. Who do you confide in/ share your moments of doubt with now? • Parents. • Siblings. • Friends. • Internet. • Books. • Best Friend. • Partner. 9. Do your parents know if you are sexually active/ are not a virgin? 10. If not, why not? Suggestions & Doubts. [Between you and us.] 11. What is it that stands in the way of communication about sex in our country? 12. What could, in your opinion, better this communication?To thwart the awkwardness, stigma,
taboo. 13. Do you have a question we can answer?” 14. You can leave us your contact info. if you want to be fed back. Thank you! Email ID, Cellular Number.
QUALITATIVE DISCOURSE 1. “The first time i was watching porn, I had the old school router which transferred data pretty slow. My mother walked in all of a sudden since I forgot to lock the door to my room. Luckily, due to slow internet speed my mother didn’t see anything and she walked out after taking what she wanted. (Some clothes or shit I don’t remember) It was the first time i thanked god for slow internet.” 2. “As a part of our exploration, my friend and I wanted to watch porn, we arranged for food and soft drinks, connected the speakers, set the environment (this was the first time we were watching it). The moment it started, the first scene was so gross that we didn’t quite approve of such a medium of information. But slowly I guess we all got used to it and porn become an important medium of information dissemination.” 3. “Protection ways? Does it hurt? Is it as gross as it seems? What is an orgasm? Why is it so important to people?”
4. “It was clinical, mom being a doctor. Dad would not even be in the same room to avoid awkwardness I guess. I was/am a pretty nerdy kid and this logical and informative approach appealed to me.” 5. “I woke up one winter morning with a hard-on and my mother asked me wear a long T-shirt. That evening she asked me whether I understood sex properly, and I said partially. She did not have much to add but asked me to stay away from girls and wait for the right age. I must have been about 13-14 years old.” 6. “In school class VIIth-VIIIth, sex conversation was very common. By Class IXth we were discussing these with girls in our class as well. We took what they told us about female sexuality as gospel truth.” 7. “Open debates about sex in classroom and dinner table between siblings can be very healthy and help children come out of their shells. A discussion about sexual attraction and masturbation needs to be had with children before they attain puberty, preferably in an open session, so they can understand how common/normal it is.” 8. “They do not find it “correct” to have a physical relationship with someone before marriage.” 9. “Everyone should have space for everyone else’s thoughts. One should not expect everyone else to have the
same perception, rather should not force one to follow what they are following.” 10. “I don’t think the NCERT chapter on reproduction really counts. The diagrams just aroused more curiosity, rather than realistically clarifying anything.” 11. “Girls were told to say it was a cooking or make up class to the boys. People skipped the reproductive system lesson. With white uniforms there were many embarrassing situations for girls.” 12. “Apart from Biology lessons, we once had a special session (I must have been in Class 7 or 8) from some kind of organisation visiting schools and imparting sex education. They covered most aspects of basic sex education. Puberty, attraction, precautions, contraceptives, pregnancy etc. It is the only session I have attended which encouraged healthy sexual attraction.” 13. “It wasn’t a good talk at all. My dad was too specific about what to avoid (the context being my cousin who cut his penis while trying to shave it- leading to a surgery). As a result of which the penis was built up to be something to be left alone. He didn’t intend it that way, but imagine the horrors, for a 10 year old. Anyway, the talks were always about hygiene, never sexuality and too much was left for the society to impart.”
14. “To start out, maybe I wanted to know all I could about my own body. I wasn’t too inclined to explore the opposite sex. The general opinion that ‘men wanted sex more’ and ‘girls should save themselves for marriage’ made me really want to know how it was so different for me and a girl. Maybe that’s the time I started reading up a bit.” 15. “There Has to be sex ed in schools. Even the embarrassment is needed. Parents can obviously help, but that’s again a comfort zone. There are very few things one can imbibe when already an adult, most of it comes from experience. Early teens is the best time to start.” 16. “Although superficially progressive, they’re quite conservative. And whole heartedly believe in the concept of sex after marriage. Maybe they’re not all that bad, but the lack of any sex talk with them, gives me no motivation at all to confide in them.” 17. “People don’t feel comfortable being open about the topic, it maybe traced back to our cultural roots and how marriage is a sacrement, and sex is considered something absolutely private in the isolation of a room.”
E V I T A CRE
S T I UN
3.
HOW MUCH CAN A CONDOM TEACH?
A condom user who has already bought the product will not gain from delving into the importance of the use of condoms, of course. Such a user got here on his/her own, clearly. So we considered what we could do here that is different from the rites of information passed by our competitors is brand the confidence to embrace ones sexuality with our product. Sexy, Not Raunchy One thing that we were sure of was that we were the sexy that isn’t raunchy. We repeated these words so many times that it is difficult to turn the sentence to anything more or less. We wanted to move away from imagery that relies on skin show and shows sex to be something confusable with beauty or confidence. We wanted to make the know-how and the openness more pride worthy than they happen to be.
Banishing Conservatism This was one brand essence we arrived at initially where we thought that ridding the youth of the narrow mindedess and the stigma/taboos around sex is what we seek to achieve. But that as a claim was too big, bulky and preachy. We gave this up to arrive at-
Making Sexuality Rewarding What is the reward in ones sexuality? We realised that sexuality is actually a lot more than your sex life and/ or your biological sex- even in this context. The idea that sex is something to have had at a certain age, with certain romanticised parameters met makes sex seem quite endearing. We wanted the user to not just be a buyer for the use of the product in the act of sex but also be assured (while buying) that he knows what he is doing, or trusts himself/herself while making sound decisions as he/she tries to figure it out. Communication is the key and knowledge is the reward.
NOMEN CLATURE
How do you name a condom? Looking at our list of names, we must seem hell-bent on one of the following: 1. 2. 3.
A Hindi name for the Condom Exposing to the world our crass sense of humour Condoms be seen in easier to frequent contexts
We all strive to be ‘desi’. For a while, yes, please accept. But we did realise soon enough that ‘desi’ might serve a purpose or two when you’re just making a joke. But nobody buys and buys a joke again. We still had to make the bad jokes for self satisfaction.
INITIAL IDEAS Dawa Daaru Daaruwala Saudagar Baazigar Deewar Guest House Ghasar Kundi Kanooni Jurm Kaboo Mein Hukum Hakeem Samajhdaar Yaari-Dosti PRIDE Plume Congratulate RESPONSIBLE Prudent Liable
Filament Filter Socket Capacitor Relay Terminal Inertia Cell BALANCE Scene Eenaam/Eemaan Thekedaar Topa (Sex ka) Prem Agan Bijli. The Charge Bijli Board Janahit (Mein Jaari) Birbal
Saavdhaan Safa Chut Khush Khabri Badhayeeyaan Aazad (Faujee) Rubber (Rabad) Adeeyal Paasa Paltu Prem Rogi Mr. Kumar Kunwara
GRATIFY Pander Indulge Chumma Chaati Risque Intimate Upfront Fortify NO NONSENSE Reinforce Momentum
PROBABLE NAMES Ion
Point Blank
Fuse BYOB Frankly
Surge Sepoy
SELECTED NAME :−
FUSE
Volt
ELECTRICITY We started with Honesty, Courage, Approachability, Self Sufficiency and so on as values to hone. Names like ‘Sepoy’ , ‘BYO (Bring Your Own) and ‘Frankly’ (which quite frankly is very charming) for the product with these values in mind were entertained. But the wiring was loose. Luckily, we were quick to realise that we don’t want to target just one of the two sexes as users and started to work around sexual equality.Our entire premise was now seeking to making sexuality pride worthy, universally. We started to think of the saleability of sexual energy as a positive, as opposed to the horniness so alive in the job description of condoms at large. We wanted to come clean in our messages, get rid of the steamy image of sex. We wanted to make sex seem easy and easily responsible. We started to think of sexual energy as something either contained within each individual or omnipresent
for one and all. This was when we realised that sex is in fact external, the expectation and even the exposure to it is fed from the outside. The act of it makes it internal later, but that is step two. We imagined sexual energy as something to be accepted and embraced. At this point Arnab left us with the word ‘PLUG’ in a casual discussion and both of us were pretty convinced with this idea of plugging into the flowing sexual energy. Also, looking at the human anatomy in the sex sense, PLUG made sense; with the male/female pins/sockets being so self explanatory, for our benefit. But then dirty-minded meaning makers told us their knockknock joke iterations using PLUG and we unplugged. For a small, two-page exploration we tried to think about balance next. The balance of the mind, Yin and Yang. Opposite, complementary,
interconnected, interdependent in the natural world. We thought of See-Saws, Fulcrum, Force, Effort. The balance that exists between the structural and emotional sense of beauty. The Golden Mean- the virtue between extreme and lacking. The balance of power between opposing forces. Chemical Bonds. Valency. Homeostatis. All this love for science brought us to the idea of protection in a laboratory setting. What does one do to avoid laboratory mishaps? Glasses, closed shoes, gloves and labcoats. This made us regard these protection tools as warriors that erode away in the name of duty for us. ‘FUSE’ covered that aspect. Being the tiny but extremely necessary part of a closed circuit. Placed in a circuit for the purpose of protection of other more important components of the circuit. Ready and willing to take the blow of an overload. Willing to be sacrificed.
INITIAL LOGO ITERATIONS
DIGITAL ITERATIONS
1. Here we used the sigma which is a representation of a fuse in an electrical circuit, along with condensed and bold typography.
2. Independant letters of the word FUSE intermingling and Fusing into each other.
3. This iteration represents a wave of energy. We've also tried to suggest two overlapping bodies with these waves and shown a single current flowing accross these two bodies.
4. The thought of flow of waves and current brought us to this iteration which is a more handmade and intimate version of the same feeling.
4. The idea of contained energy shown by a busy ball at the back along with organic hand made type was tried out in this iteration.
FINAL LOGO
SYMBOLOGY
We wanted to help users make ‘declarations’ using our product. So we sat down to think about the kind of collaterals that could spark that idea. 1. We thought of a small fuse in every pack to be retained, but this idea seemed too much like a way of keeping score, hence rejected. 2. We then thought about a tiny circuit with an LED and a fuse that goes out after a while. A one time circuit to glorify the sacrificial condom warrior. Too poetic. 3. We thought of door-knob signs next. Declaring sexual activity in progress.
This made us look at door-knobs as the next in line bodyguards, as really, what would sex be without privacy? So here we were, talking about openness behind closed doors. You see the paradox in that scenario, you do. The doors need to be less like barriers and more like stand-ins. The doors need to be the outlining and not hiding what is meant to be kept safe. For this purpose, we employed:
Doorsock : http://intervarsity.org/blog/3-things-about-sexdating-and-jesus
The Sock Any piece of garment hanging on the door-knob of a closed door indicates sexual activity in progress and requests privacy by informing passer-bys. Socks, ties, hats have been used popularly for this purpose.
The Doors Closed doors spell privacy, but socked doors spell privacy assumed with pride. With socked doors in varied locations, the suggestion of being free-willed with your sexuality came alive. We were suggesting a generation that is risktaking and precautious at the same time, a generation that believes in making most of now. Doors were also contributing to the idea of ‘anytime, anywhere’ that we all evolve to arrive at in our rule-breaking phase of puberty. Taking things out of context gives thrill.
Electric Symbols We looked at circuit diagrams and circuit boards for quite some time, trying to see how we can use the electrical symbols to create a clean coded language to refer to sex. Our initial logo iterations are proof of how we tried to use the symbol for Fuse in our logo, trying to make connections within the word. To be honest, we were quite smitten by the word ‘Fuse’. Do not want to sound ambitious, but we did consider how if we manage replacing the word ‘Fuck’ with ‘Fuse’, it would easily be our biggest success.
PACKAGING We tried for quite some time to have to some degree an informative boxone that goes beyond delivering just the functional aspects of the condom. Our initial ideas revolved around wanting to leave the user with something to either want to retain with himself/herself or pass on to another user. We had considered parents as users in the initial months of ideation, trying to attempt a trickle effect from the parent to the child, leaving maybe a comic or just facts about sex in such a format that a parent is able to use it. to talk to their child. But that idea was stubbed as our critics led us to the realisation that ‘Liquor’ is an ill-fitting context for this spill of information. We thought about this, and we thought hard because we, being part of the target audience knew for a fact that we would react well to such an initiation. Employing this very
stubbornness , we flipped the flow chain. What if instead of parents informing, kids accepted sex with pride?
I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU F AND USE The word ‘use’ within the word ‘Fuse’ revealed it’s extremes to us slow and steady. In the first instanceUse a condom being the simple universal message, and the scope for wordplay there. We moved on to realising that ‘F***’ and ‘Use’ separated imply the obvious expletive ‘Fuck’ which is a known synonym for sex, in extensive use around the world. With the suffix ‘Use’ the complete message gets statedthat one must fuck with a condom in use. But here comes our breakthrough.
We realised that one thing that no condom brand that we know of has put into practice is looking into Disposal Etiquette for condoms. We considered a few ideas to put disposal into practice. Initially we wanted to use the space in the cardboard box, as the condoms disappear, to become the dumping ground for the used condoms.
-We considered cylindrical boxes with a two way opening, one side sealed such that nothing comes back out once in. - We considered a drawer with disposal bags. 10 bags in a pack of 10.
We tried all sorts of push and pull mechanisms to try and have a bin of sorts inbuilt in the package. But we quickly realised that this would mean having to hold on to the box with both the used and unused condoms, which is pretty disgusting. The little piece of sticky tape in a sanitary napkin disposal was inspiration. What could make the user interact the least with each used condom and instil the idea of shameless disposal. The idea of a zip-pouch came this way. What if the sachets for the condoms were zip-pouches. You use and throw as they came.
THE DOORSIGNS We decided to make the practice of hanging socks on door knobs come alive by making door signs that come with a single sock per box of FUSE. ‘Sock Before You Enter’ suggests both the door demanding privacy and the body demanding protection. Happy Hours are ON’ makes the clear suggestion of the involvement of liquor in these proceedings.
THE BOX 1
3
In the layout for our final box, we included the symbols for: Battery, Make Contact, Fuse and Break Contact. They can be subjectively interpreted as we provide no use or explanation of these symbols. It is only a manner of stating where the word ‘Fuse’ has been sourced from.
2
1. Electric Symbols 1 - http://www.tpub.com/gunners/128.htm, 2. Electric Symbols 2 - http://www.edrawsoft.com/switch-symbols.php 3. Anti Baby Condom - http://www.made-in-england.org/anti-baby-condom/
PRINT ADS
We did think of ideas revolving around inanimate objects like eggs and test-tubes and objects representing the genuine curiosity we’ve all had as kids about how we came into the world.
INITIAL ONE LINERS 1. “Pro maane Protected” 2. “Dude, rubber hai?”
8. “When you want the party to go on, you know what to ask for.”
3. “Oye, extra condom hai?” (Stationery lending sensibilities)
9. Condom se kya darna. Why so shy.
4. Sex ka Topa. -“Beta, apne sex ke tope toh khud saaf kar diya karo! 22 saal ka ho gaya hai..”
10. Condom ke bachche *poof*
5. “Condom bhi koi khaane ki cheez hai?” 6. Dahi, cheeni, condom. 7. Neki aur pooch pooch?
11. What is the difference between a test tube and a condom? One could have made you, the other could’ve killed you. 12. Pleasure = Sex (not)= Reproduction.
N2 PHOTOSHOOT We were trying to stick to the idea of electricity (as our umbrella metaphor) and also maximising the use of a certain halogen lamp in our custody. The light escaping around the door frames in our Print Ads became our representation of sex. We spent a long afternoon in the bathroom of N2, trying the idea first with socks and later with a checkered tie. We also went on to try the same in a hospital premises (showing sex at the workplace), taking these pictures in a grainy black and white effect. The pictures turned out pretty neat, but they had a look and feel more mature and evolved than the brand essence we were working with.
BEYOND N2
We shot some more photographs with the same concept but this time we went to various locations. We shot at the changing room ad store room of the Levis Store and the Restaurant of Beijing Bites, Both in Yelahanka New Town.
PRESS ADS The Door metaphor had come to stay; and we knew this when it helped us arrive at the words ‘Private, Not Hidden’.
HOARDINGS
THE TVCs
We started with TVC ideas that were initially only serving the purpose of selling condoms, repeatedly forgetting that these are liquor flavoured condoms. We were trying: 1. Didi: Papa ko bata de, Chintu. Papa: Chintu, kya Mummy jaanti hai? Mummy: Didi ko bhi pata hai? 2. Daddy leaves box of condoms in sons room (doesn’t have the talk), box turns up in mothers cupboard. (Boy too naive. Parents shouldn’t assume education.) 3. Social Experiment Idea: Boy running/ Man driving a car only halting to ask people on the road if they have an extra condom on them. We wanted to show the product in settings where young people meet and talk freely, where the conversation about sex isn’t only
accepted but has evolved. We thought of contexts like stage artists in a concert and the back-end technical guy set in a contrast in the kind of image they have and the sort of awareness they might have. These ideas were characterising people in locations where liquor is a given, but to make direct references about sex and liquor was necessary. We then arrived at the idea of ‘Secondaries’. People who know things, are self taught but avoid being in the limelight. We chose them to perform ice-breaking heroic stunts in situations of tied tongues. This was another step moving away from the utopian mainstream world of confident, achievement-in-hand characters with perfect lives. An important film we ought to credit for
the emergence of this line of thought is ‘The Hunter and the Swan discuss their Meeting’. From ‘Secondaries’ came the idea of Emergence, so we stepped furthermore to let our heroes be ‘The Shy Guys’. The ‘Condoms ke Bachche Nahin Hote’ idea was something that we were enamoured by- in a setting where the bully is put down by the simple secondary character. We tried to work ads with the punch-line in mind (which isn’t advisable) and arrived at a long list of character traits that the condom can have. After all of that, we arrived at some basic objectives to achieve. The ideas at this point revolved around: 1. Being sneaky, but keeping tracks covered. 2. Being risk takers. 3. Being responsible. 4. Being liberal with both sex and liquor. 5. Sex being for both the sexes, product targeted at couples and not singular subjects. 6. Secondary subjects emerging or being enlightened. This brief was sent to those being casted:
“The product for which these TVCs are being shot is called FUSE. FUSE is the suggested name for a brand of liquor flavoured condoms. The client is as of now not an existing manufacturer of condoms and wants to launch this new variant of condoms as his opening product. He wants to launch Gin, Rum and Vodka as of now, and branch out to other variants later. From our end, the decisions we have taken about the campaign for this product are as follows: 1. We are sexy, not raunchy. We are not selling condoms with titillating imagery and skin show. 2. We (as a brand) are young and responsible about sex; seeking to instil among the young a similar responsibility and openness towards sex. 3. We are targeting 18-25 year olds who are educated and open to talking about sex. Although, we are not trying to portray everyone in this age group to seem equally broadminded. The ads in fact show the gaps in these young perspectives. 4. The premise for these ads is responsibility, coming prepared, keeping tracks covered and taking
SCRIPTS Shoot #1 and #2: “Condoms ke bachche nahin hote.” Location: A house in Ulsoor, A PCO Booth in Yelahanka. Cast: Natasha Anna Pereira and Karan Gupta. Crew: Alok Utsav & Karan Dilip Worah on Camera, Nihar Apte for Sound. + Dhruv Pujari, Radhika Mantri, Tanushree Agarwal assisting. Context: Girlfriend gives her boyfriend instructions on how to sneak-in to her house effectively, while parents sleep soundly. pride in sexuality.”
GIRL: “Hello? Yeh kaunsa number hai?” BOY: “Balance nahin bharva paaya. PCO.” GIRL: *winces* then *sighs* BOY: “Sorry na. (sheepishly)” GIRL: “Achcha, dhyaan se sunn. Teri car pe campus ka sticker nahin hai, toh bike se aana and park outside. Andar aake register mein asli naam sign matt karna. Actually, koi bhi ID rakh hi matt wallet mein.” BOY: “Hmmm.” GIRL: “Socks pehene hain na? Joote utaarke enter karna. Papa ki snoring is your cue. Are you in dark clothes?” BOY:
“Eeyess.” GIRL: “Main balcony se chaabi phekoongi. You enter slyly while I guard my parents ke bedroom ka door.” BOY: “Achha. Thoda dheere bol?” GIRL: “Achha, suno daaru khareedi?” BOY: “KYA? Daaru bhi? Itni risk leni hai? (pauses and sniggers) Bachche ho gaye toh?” The man who owns the PCO booth, who was listening to this conversation, keeps a box of FUSE condoms on the phone box at this point as a retort to the last comment made by the boy. The boy picks it up and looks at it, stumped. (Pack Shot) VO: “Condoms ke bachche nahin hote.” END. Once this ad was shot and we started to compile it on the editing table, we realised the glitches in this premise. We tried to cheat, with redubbed dialogues and altering the shot sequences , but the idea could not deliver the crux. It was long and taking too long in establishing the setting. Liquor was only flickering at the end, sex wasn’t implied strongly enough. We decided to drop this idea and shot this second ad-
Shoot #3
“Sir? Andar ho kya raha hai?” Location: NITTE Meenakshi Boys Hostel Cast: Nihal S. Majithia and Jayesh Joshi Crew: Karan Dilip Worah on Camera. Nihar Apte for Sound. Context: Two young boys are sitting outside a closed door, standing guard for a friend who has snuck his girlfriend into his hostel room. They hear a conversation about liquor and get confused about what is happening behind the door.
Boys settling into the space of a hostel corridor, preparing for a long night with books and munchies. One boy is already in frame with a textbook in his lap, the other comes in with chips and soda. Music being played behind them in the room shows passage of time. A student passing by stops and asks: PASSERBY: “Duty? Haha.” He leaves the frame. Time passes. Suddenly the music stops playing and the sounds of foreplay are heard. The following conversation, after some giggling soundsGIRL (from inside the room): “Kya kholoon? Gin ya Rum? Vodka!?” The boys are first awkward, then annoyed.
NIHAL: “Yaar, humein toh kabhi pilaate hi nahin hain!” Boy 2 knocks on the door and asksJAYESH: “Sir? Andar ho kya raha hai?” They wait for an answer, but those inside the room say nothing. Two sachets of condoms slide out from under the door. (Pack Shot) END. This script kept things simple. Sex was implied with just a closed door and voices, and the product was introduced at the end as an answer to their enquiry. We had lighting issues in the shooting of this ad, our dear halogen lamp fell and broke. Its fuse went out. But what we had thanks to this shoot (post edit) was this pair of characters. The boys cast for this were a good choice of actors and represented our target audience of ‘secondaries’. We decided to try another script with the same pair and came up with this second idea-
Shoot #4
Location: House #11, SFS Colony. Cast: Nihal S. Majithia and Jayesh Joshi. Crew: Indrajeet Deshmukh on Camera, Nihar Apte for Sound. Context: The two boys are in their room watching the movie ‘Sharaabi’ on their laptop. The song ‘De De Pyaar De’ is playing, the video showing an inebriated Amitabh Bachchan being openly romantic as he tries to hug and tease an embarassed Jaya Prada. Nihal breaks into a rant about how he goes through the same sequence in real life (relating to Jaya Prada’s character in the scene).
The two boys are eating peanuts etc. and watching a movie quietly. Jayesh is enjoying the song, while Nihal looks a little bothered. We see from their POV what these two are watching. The scene (as described above) is just being concluded. Nihal hits the space-bar to pause the film and saysNIHAL: “Mere saath na YEH HI hota hai!” JAYESH: “Kya hota hai?” NIHAL: “Yaar, woh sirf pee ke hi mood mein aati hai. (Pause) And you know na, she is so loud. Phir mujhse nahin hota tab.” JAYESH: “Why don’t you talk it out?”
NIHAL: “Phir woh awkward ho jaata hai. And then next morning kehti hai, ‘Let’s not talk about it.’” JAYESH: “Hmmm.” He looks thoughtful briefly and then leans out, outside of frame to retrieve something from his boy. He takes out a small blue-black box and checks its contents. He hands over the bos of FUSE condoms to Nihal. Nihal looks at the box, realisation hits him. Jayesh hits the space bar and the song continues to play. (Pack Shot) END. As a set, the two ads worked in bringing forth a lot of what we were implying and claiming. This ad showing how sex can be a complete hassle for some as it is so reliant on factors like mood and timing
N O I T C E L REF
ADIBA MUZAFFAR Back in our qualitative survey stage, we were asked by one anonymous interviewee the simple question: “What is it like?” This was an amazing challenge to have chanced upon- to describe sex to someone who hasn’t had the chance. As a sensory experience, using what they would relate to. We felt very much like a parent in this setting, and we wanted to prove ourselves to be the parents we admired in the making. The Stuff I Know: What it’s like. 3 2 1, go. I think there’s a lot of thought given to the way we’re structured for the divine sexual purpose. First of all, we don’t exactly get
to see most of what happens and our sense of sight (in the event) is only an illusion voiced in our imagination’s husky-voiced commentary. So take off your glasses and turn on the tactile sea loving side in you. Goose-pimp yourself. What it’s like. A brazen blur of colors throbs for you, with epileptic action in each you-squeezed-your-eyes-shut moment that you live till you climax. A momentous momentum, surprisingly sincere and rhythmic, creates a slippery mish-mash between pain and pleasure. Your pulse spills outside the lines in its crazy haste as you’re this new kind of confused that makes you plead for more confusion (for analysis of course). There’s this crevice
inside you, a tiny cave, a luscious membrainy secret passage. And you admit your one-and-only inside and take one last cavernous breathe. And then you’re living your Narnia dream. Okay. I’ll explain it in one more wayIt is pure liquid engineering, you see. The he piece fits the she piece. Like a charm. I really like the word ‘lubricant’ placed in this context. Like how saliva makes so much sense for lubricating food? Lick your lips and think about how I mean that. Now. I’ve always been a fan of the sexy piece of flesh our tongue happens to be. Let’s meet the powers that it comes equipped with? *Taste. It’s quite a superior being with high IQ sensibilities trapped in its every pink pore. **Taste + Texture. Think of hot soup and then a surprisingly crispy, butter toasted crouton. We can both touch and taste in the whiplash wonderland called a mouth. You’re feeling this now if you’re reading aloud and tasting this word soup. (I am surviving a saliva flood myself.) Studies have proven that not one little morsel that has met thy
tongue thinks it bled itself in vain. Such is the treatment your mouth is trained to give anything that crosses your lippy Welcome mat. And then once past the tongue, imagine that tumble taken down a throat. You sure have imagined the ride that food takes belt-lessly inside our body, yes? So now let’s freeze this sensual experience you felt in your mouth and draw a sensory correlation, applying it down-there. Your vagina- a room wallpapered and tiled in tongue chart paper. And now hold your breath in this salivating mouth. I think I ought to leave the rest of the enquiry suspended? :D In conclusion, sex is whoa.
NIHAR APTE Why did i even choose this damn
project! I could have easily signed up for the mens garment or the fairness cream campaign. Further i could have even chosen to brand an airline or a school or something. Atleast i had ready made opinions on these products and could have been more effective when it came to research. But No. When my faculty was briefing us about the three products, something about the word 'condom' struck a chord in my sould and made me impulsively want to raise my hand. It was my ignorance. I think it was my ignorance that i could see radiating growth somewhere far away. I was not at all in a stage to speak to people about sex in a project where you are really expected to get to know people and talk to themv as much as possible. All the information i had myself was from all over the place. From friends, internet, Books, Documentaries etc. My experience wasnt enough to make me feel normal about it. All this cultural exposure to sex
formed a warped image about it in my mind and i wasnt confident reciprocating to questions thrown at me in a conversation, let alone starting one. I think this project has helped me overcome a lot of these hold ups. I pushed myself to talk to people about sex and in the process learnt how to start a conversation about it and at the same time not make the vibe of the conversation feel awkward. I maaged to explore jokes related to sex and eventually start cracking a few of my own as well. I also told other people these jokes since i wanted to check whether they work incase i want to use these in my campaign. This in my view was important since i really wanted to make a successful campaign and make a successfull campaign wouldnt have happened without getting rounded knowledge and reactions from different people about our project. I definitely have learnt a lot through this mind numbing product and brief but i still agree that the other options wouldve been easier.
BIBLIOGRAPHY VIDEO REFERENCES
NEVER LIKE THE FIRST TIME
Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEEbBMryv-s
THE KINDASUTRA
Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZfvpbIgiZA
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We'd like to thank a few people who stuck with us and kept us sane through this insanely challenging project. Thank you : Pandrang Row. Arnab Basu. Evan Hastings. Nina John, Dr. Mahendra Watsa, Chithra Iyer, Payal Singhal, Rajashree Wad Radhika Mantri, Shiv Sharma, Tanushree Agarwal, Aishwarya Nair, Sabika Muzaffar, Karan Dilip Worah, Vijay Yess, Afaan Arshad