Tongue in Cheek Watch Out For That Diarrhea

A cheeky public safety announcement from last year on practicing safe “ass play” is resurfacing online and setting tongues wagging.

The city Health Department’s “getting a little tongue in cheek?” ad campaign, which ran on dating sites for gay men in the summer of 2018, popped back up on social media Thursday — and was quickly dumped on by bashful New Yorkers.

“You can’t take it seriously. I see where they’re coming from, but it’s kind of nasty,” Fernando Guzman, 24, of the Bronx, said after being shown a picture of the ad, which features tongue and peach emojis and warns of getting into the sack with someone while suffering from diarrhea.

Patrick Gallahue, a spokesman at the Health Department, said the ad had an “irreverent” tone, but maintained it was well-meaning. 

“Our primary concern is the health of New Yorkers,” Gallahue said, noting the ad ran on sites like Grindr and the Gay Ad Network in response to a spike in Hepatitis A and “diarrheal” diseases.

 The ad ran in the summer of 2018 and started making the rounds again on social media Thursday. (NYC Department of Health)

The bulletin warns that such infections can spread during “anal sex play like fingering, rimming, fisting” and other forms of “ass play.” It urges people to avoid sex for two weeks after suffering from any type of diarrhea.

But a conservative Bronx man who only identified himself as Rafael said the ad campaign rubbed him the wrong way.

“This is a degeneration of morals and humanity. The youth are lost and the city is corrupt...The youth is coming apart,” Rafael told the Daily News. “The church is really the only safe place now you can raise your kids and safely teach them about sex.” David Chisholm, 19, suggested Rafael should loosen up.

“I think it’s funny,” Chisholm said of the ad. 

Chris Sommerfeldt on NY Daily News

Just a a tongue of an explanation from the publisher: This was a campaign abandoned by the NYC Department. of Health trying to  inform people on the dangers of Hepatitis which can be easily  transmitted by someone carrying this virus through bodily fluids from the engine mounted on the back. I would love to meet the person who gave this idea for the ad campaign, or may be not? There is nothing serious about this ad except the disease which is trying to keep people from getting. It's up to you and me to judge wether they used the right pitch or not.