Saatchi & Saatchi uses suggestive visual humor, and deadpan delivery from actor Alan Cumming, to skewer the U.S. Food and Drug Adminstration's rules around donating blood.
At issue is a recent revision in the FDA's regulations that allows gay and bisexual men to give blood, but only if they have haven't had sex for a year. (They were previously barred entirely, based on concerns about exposure to HIV.)
With tongue firmly in cheek, Cumming introduces a series of eight non-sexual activities that that are "guaranted to make your year without sex fly by."
Among them: Apply your manual dexterity to packing powder into a Civil War musket; thrust your hips into yoga; and polish your trophies. The logo "Celibacy Challenge" logo also is a riot—a pair of red briefs with a white lock over them.
The ad points to celibacychallenge.com, where you can sign a petition.
Saatchi and Bullit director Ari Sandel created the mock PSA for GLAAD and the Gay Men's Health Crisis, which want the FDA rules to be based on risk factors, not sexual orientation, and are petitioning the federal agency to make that change. The pro-bono ad, which is being distributed online via the hashtag #CelibacyChallenge, went up Thursday on YouTube.
CREDITS
Clients: GLAAD, Gay Men's Health Crisis
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, New York
Chief Creative Officer: Jay Benjamin
Creative Director, Art: Johnnie Ingram
Creative Director, Copy: Chris Skurat
Design Director: Juan Saucedo
Art Directors: Mete Erdogan, Matilda Kahl
Copywriters: Callum Spencer, Viktor Angwald
Chief Production Officer: Tanya LeSieur
Director of Content Production: John Doris
Executive Producer: Dani Stoller
Integrated Producer: Matt Micioni
Lead Creative Technologist: Steve Nowicki
Digital Strategist: Shae Carroll
Information Architects: Robert Moon, Kelly Redzack
Head of Art Buying: Maggie Sumner
Lead Retoucher: Yan Apostolides
Proofreader: Ed Stein
Chief Marketing Officer: Christine Prins
Talent Director: Akash Sen
Account Director: Rebecca Robertson
Associate Director, Business Development: Jamie Daigle
Account Supervisor: Carly Wallace
Project Manager: Bridget Auerbach
Production Company: Bullitt
Director: Ari Sandel
Directors of Photography: Warren Kommers (Alan Cumming)
Benjamin Kitchens (vignettes)
Executive Producer, CEO: Todd Makurath
Line Producer: Nathaniel Greene
Editing House: Arcade Edit
Editor: Jeff Ferruzzo
Assistant Editor: Mark Popham
Producer: Fanny Cruz
Flame Artist: Tristian Wake
Executive Producer: Sila Soyer
Music House: Nylon
Producer: Christina Carlo
Audio: Sound Lounge
Mixer: Glen Landrum
Post House/Telecine: Company 3
Colorist: Tom Poole