Commercial condom advertisements usually emphasize the sexual pleasure of branded products, which leads to controversial public views. Some people agree that commercial condom advertisements can also benefit public health, whereas others disapprove of such commercial condom advertisements because their contents are usually offensive, low-tasted, and pornographic. Despite controversy over commercial condom advertising, we know little about the spillover effect of commercial condom advertisement. On one hand, sexual-related content in the commercial condom advertisement may have an arousal effect. That is, it can evoke sexual arousal, leading to more sex intercourses. More frequent sex behaviors, especially casual sex behaviors, may then lead to a risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). On the other hand, commercial condom advertisements may have an educational effect. That is, it can persuade people to use condoms, helping people get in the habit of using condoms, thus reducing the STD trends. In the short term when condom commercials are aired, the arousal effect and educating effect coexists, which motivates the net short-term effect as an open empirical question. In the long-term when the condom commercial no longer aired, the educating effect remains, which decreases the STD trends.

• Peiliang Sun(Harbin Institute of Technology, China)
• Yu Ma(McGill University, Canada)
• Jingwen Liu(Xi’an Jiaotong University, China)