INDIA — Not everyone likes the flavor of the DKT “XXX” flavored condom. Although chocolate, strawberry, and banana maybe fine for a sundae, Indian authorities think they’re a little spicy for daytime television — when they’re associated with condoms.Both the Advertising Standards Council of India and the Censor Board have insisted that the government put a stop to the airing of the flavored condom ads, which end with the provocative question, “What is your flavor of the night?”
“This campaign is obscene,” Censor Board member Sharmila Tagore informed the Times of India. “Maybe DKT is targeting raunchy teenagers, but the ads are definitely not meant for children.”
Tagore isn’t interested in seeing the taste tempting advertisements go away entirely, just away from daytime broadcasting, especially during popular programming like the Champions Trophy international cricket tournament. Instead, she would prefer to see it air after 11:00pm or in movie theaters showing mature fare.
When she’s not helping keep adult material away from the gaze of children, Tagore works as an anti-AIDS activist, so she understand the importance of condoms. Ironically, a senior DKT official who spoke to the Times insisted that the latex products were not meant oral sex, but to provide an alterative to couples who dislike the scent of unflavored condoms.
The debate about the decency of indecency of the ads comes at a time when India is experiencing one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in the world, with 5.7 million Indians believed to be living with the disease. Some activists believe the number is closer to 7 million, but that shame brought about by the conservative nation’s stigma against the illness makes accurate numbers difficult to determine.
