This article was published on November 30, 2016

Durex wants you to use ā˜”ļø to talk about safe ??


Durex wants you to use ā˜”ļø to talk about safe ??

The worldā€™s biggest condom brand seems to be obsessed with emoji. Durex is on a very seriousĀ mission to get a condom emoji on your phone, as only three months ago it promotedĀ a fictional eggplant flavorĀ to bring attention to its cause.

Unfortunately, the Unicode consortium has denied its request ā€” but that isnā€™t stopping the company from trying.

To mark World AIDS Day on December 1, the condom giant is launching its own, unofficial take on the safe sex emoji called ā€œUmbrella with Raindropsā€. The choice won the popular vote in a poll asking the brandā€™s fans to come up with an alternative to use for the latex contraception.

emoji

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According to research commissioned by the company, more than 75 percent of 16 to 35 year-olds surveyed use emojis to discuss sex. Unicode doesnā€™t allow sexy emoji, however, so people are haveĀ to use various fruits and vegetables to convey the message.

And for condoms, if Durex has its way, thereā€™s now ā˜”ļø. But if introducing a real condom emoji could help in getting more young adults to practice safe sex, Iā€™m all for it, and I donā€™t understand why Unicode has to be such a ? about it.

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