Three Amigos

Produced by over 80 volunteers in Canada, India, and South Africa, the series of 20 PSAs features 3 animated condom characters. This initiative uses humour to motivate people to use a condom if they have sex (in the words of producer Firdaus Kharas: "If you don't have sex, you won't get HIV. But if you have sex, use a condom.") The Amigos' animated condoms ("Dick", "Shaft" and "Stretch") go on a series of adventures that include space travel, with the punch line, "No condom, no blastoff." The Three Amigos characters are satires of "typical dysfunctional males, battling to negotiate their sexuality in a world fraught with danger and risk." The message, meant to appeal to youth, is that condoms are our friends, our amigos. One segment promotes a female contraceptive to avoid AIDS or HIV. Another, titled "The Beautiful Game", seeks to galvanise youth through sports imagery and metaphor. "Animation creates a kind of sense of disbelief (so) it is much easier to get them [the PSAs] accepted on national television."

The spots, which are 60, 30, 20 and 15 seconds each, are available for distribution around the world, free to broadcasters, non-government organisations (NGOs), and community groups (click here for ordering information). The series is being broadcast on prime time television in South Africa (SABC 1 Ya Mampela). Organisers encouraged broadcasters to translate the series into various local languages, with local stars re-voicing the characters; as of this writing, the PSAs have been re-created in 41 languages. One PSA per language is streaming on the Three Amigos website.

The involvement and support of prominent personnel has been key to the strategy of ensuring a wide, global reach for Three Amigos. Each DVD includes a message from South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu who said: "Young people, do not respond well on being told what to do even when if such instruction is in their own self interest. Animated characters are a non-threatening, non-authoritarian vehicle for communication." Tutu, who has called the PSAs "a powerful communicating tool", has written an open letter to broadcasters around the world which he calls "an impassioned plea" to "use these PSA's. They cannot be played enough." The overall goal is to have the PSAs in at least 50 languages seen by a billion people in 100 countries.

HIV/AIDS.

The series is conceived and written by South African producer Brent Quinn of Quintet Productions. Quinn's producing partner is globally reknowned Canadian producer Firdaus Kharas. The project is supported by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and was launched on November 13 2003 in Cape Town, South Africa.

"The key challenge in the prevention of HIV/AIDS is to shift mindsets and challenge attitudes that lead to unprotected sex. This series of comedy sketches is aimed to nudge the sexually active towards common sense. The key focus of The Three Amigos is to de-stigmatise the condom itself."

As of this writing, The Three Amigos has received 30 international recognitions. Click here to read about these awards.