Happy Prostitute Ads Pulled: Photos Spark Huge Backlash for Promoting Prostitution (PHOTO, VIDEO)
A series of "Happy Prostitute" ads have been pulled in Brazil after they were criticized for promoting and even glamorizing prostitution in the Latin American country.
The Brazilian Health Ministry, which ran the ad campaign, was strongly criticized for the posters which featured various slogans that many found to be inappropriate and offensive.
The campaign was conducted online, and one poster showed a prostitute with a slogan stating, "I'm happy being a prostitute."
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Another controversial slogan used stated, "I cannot be seen without a condom, my love."
The campaign stunned many in Brazil, and has since been mocked internationally with the images going viral worldwide on the Internet, and the Brazilian Health Ministry received strong backlash from the campaign.
The ministry initially launched the campaign with the aim of promoting safe sex and educating the Brazilian public about sexually transmitted diseases. However, something was lost in the campaign room, and it appears no one realized the wholly inappropriate nature of the slogans and how they could be received.
Speaking about the misleading messages from the campaign, Alexander Padilha, the head of the Health Ministry has said, "The role of the ministry is to have specific content to encourage prevention among sex workers."
Padilha has overseen the pulling of the ad campaign and has since issued a statement where he confirmed he did not think that the "Happy Prostitute" image was something the Ministry of Health should be promoting.
He said: "I do not think this is a message the ministry should be sending. For as long as I remain in office and add like that will not be part of our campaigns."
Prostitution is in fact legal in Brazil and poverty in various parts of the large country have forced many into the sex industry as a means to live.
