Strange Creates ‘Pant-tastic Voyage’ to promote sexual health

To promoted sexual health more effectively in the Bournemouth and Poole area, Strange has created the ‘Pant-tastic Voyage’ for the local NHS. This highly original and engaging interactive journey is available on the www.f-risky.co.uk website and on CD.
 
The Pant-tastic Voyage combines appealing visuals, characters and animation, with images of real infections. There are also links to Chlamydia testing by post and Genito-Urinary Medicine (GUM) Clinic information.

In creating the Pant-tastic Voyage, the PCT aims to increase the use of condoms, encourage more Chlamydia testing and increase footfall at its GUM Clinics. Ultimately, the PCT hopes to see the young people in Bournemouth and Poole becoming the most sexually healthy in the country.

At the start of the Pant-tastic Voyage, visitors are greeted by a cute, animated cartoon robot called STD2.  After selecting either the male or female character to accompany STD2 to the ‘shrink ray’, the characters are minaturised into a small submarine with a condom-shaped cover.

The characters then arrive at a cartoon of either a male or female genital area, which has clearly visible signs of infection, such as warts and pubic lice. A list of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) appears, which users can click on for more information. Each item on this list is highlighted as the mouse travels over the graphic representation of symptoms such as warts, discharge, lice, etc.

"Past strategies for educating young people about sexual health were focused on presentations of strong images" explained Jamie Sergeant, Creative Director of Strange. "These often had the effect of either turning off or amusing the target audience".

The Pant-tastic Voyage has been designed to encourage young people to interact with the subject of sexual health so that they can become informed, rather than scared. "By presenting the images and information in an appealing interactive context, NHS Bournemouth & Poole believes that protection from and testing for STIs can be significantly increased" said Jamie Sergeant.

Photographic images of STIs are used in the Pant-tastic Voyage, along with information on the infection, its effects, how to get tested and the treatment. These images and text appear on cartoon screens in a sci-fi style laboratory.

The STIs covered by the Pant-tastic Voyage are Chlamydia, Genital Warts, Gonorrhoea, Genital Herpes, Syphilis, Trichonomas Vaginalis, Non-Specific Urethritis, Hepatitis B, Thrush, Pubic Lice or Crabs and Scabies.  The female section also includes Bacterial Vaginosis.