December 18, 2009

New York City Launches Condom Wrapper Design Contest

New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is inviting New Yorkers to design the wrapper for a “special edition” city-branded free condom that will be unveiled in the fall, The New York Times reports. The deadline for contest entries is January 22, and a panel will announce the finalists in February, at which point residents can vote for a winner online.

While the health department has provided free condoms at clinics since the 1970s, the city expanded distribution in 2005 through an Internet-based bulk ordering system. The program now distributes 41 million free Lifestyle condoms each year through more than 2,000 organizations. The city began making these condom wrappers distinctive—initially bearing the text “NYC CONDOM” in the style of subway-line logos—on Valentine’s Day 2007. Designer Yves Béhar revamped the condom wrapper one year later.

According to the article, the design contest is open to all New York City residents ages 17 and older (younger applicants require written consent from a parent or guardian). The artwork must be original and cannot include copyrighted, trademarked or sexually explicit images. Proposals can be submitted online at nyc.gov/condoms or by mail to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Bureau of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control, Attention: Director of Condoms and Materials Distribution, 40 Worth Street, CN-A/2, Room 1602, New York, N.Y. 10013.

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Previous Comments:

Kizzy Graham, NYC, 2009-12-24 12:14:28
Work on the condoms (appropriate size) and getting them to those who need them most -- not on a campaign to create a new design! Did anyone ask the primarily intended recipients (people of color in NYC) what they thought about the fit of the condoms. They're definitely on the smaller side of the spectrum.

Gianni Ciulla, New York City, 2009-12-23 07:16:01
It is a very good idea to let New Yorkers design a condom. I would decrese the age below 15 for a parent consent. The reason is because teenager are the most vulneralbe in been unsafe or the they say raw.