If you’re not up on your emoji symbolism, FYI the eggplant emoji represents the penis.
Similar to how there’s no emoji for an actual penis, or a vagina, there’s also no emoji dedicated to safe sex—no condoms, birth control pills, IUDs—nothing.
Well, Durex, a popular condom brand, is protesting the eggplant emoji in a unique way. Durex is hocking an eggplant flavored condom. Yum?
More than an eggplant emoji
Truth be told, Durex doesn’t really have a problem with eggplants or the eggplant emoji. The real issue here is with Unicode Consortium, what AdWeek calls “the tech-standardization overlord.”
In August, Unicode rejected the condom maker’s marketing team’s bid for a condom emoji. The company’s campaign for the change began in 2015. It launched a social media campaign that attracted 750,000 endorsements from consumers in almost 140 countries.
Since Durex couldn’t get Unicode’s attention, Durex took matters into its own hands.
“[Durex launched] a gag campaign about the launch of a savory rubber based on the phallic purple plant,” AdWeek reports.
If this flavor intrigues you, we’re sorry to report the following information: the eggplant condom flavor is not real. We repeat: This flavor is not real… But the marketing team did a bang up job making the “release” seem real.
“…the stunt does include an amusing mockup of eggplant condom packaging, and no shortage of other little highlights,” AdWeek reports.
“Eggplants have long been seen as a nutritious food staple,” the Durex eggplant press release states… “serving as a key ingredient for dishes including Moussaka, Ratatouille and Baba ganoush.”
From there, though, the press release gets a tad more serious.
It’s about safe sex
“Durex knows there is no place for an eggplant when it comes to safe sex,” adds the company.
“It’s just as questionable, in fact, as a decision not to introduce a Safe Sex Emoji to empower young people to talk about sex, safely, in a language they are comfortable with.”
We couldn’t agree more.
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