Listen to Ring Tone here12 Sep 2008, National Post, Reuters
Ring tone spreading condom message downloaded 270,000 times
HIV & AIDS
A ring tone that sings “condom, condom, condom” has attracted more than 270,000 downloads since its launch in India last month, spreading the message of safe sex to many more cellphone users in the country and abroad. The Condom a Capella ringtone, in which the word “condom” is sung in many overlapping melodies, is the work of Rupert Fernandes and Vijay Prakash. The Web site
www.condomcondom.org where it can be heard, has had more than two million hits. The campaign was produced by the BBC World Service Trust in India and aims to target the increasing number of Indian cellphone users, estimated at more than 250 million. According to the latest figures, 2.4 million people are living with HIV in India. Never before has a mobile ring-tone been used to communicate a social or public health message, said Yvonne MacPherson, country director, India, for the trust. “We wanted to create a conversation piece that would get people talking and ultimately break down the taboo about condoms.”
