In September 2023, reports appeared on the RuNet that, as part of a promotional campaign for the final season of the Netflix series, a huge condom was hung on a monument in the capital of Argentina. We have verified the authenticity of the viral video provided as evidence.
On the video being distributed imprinted 67.5-meter obelisk, built in the center of Buenos Aires in 1936 in honor of the 400th anniversary of the founding of the city. Numerous publications claim that during the advertising campaign for the final season of the series “Sexual education"(in the original Sex Education, which is also often translate like "Sex Education") from the Netflix streaming service to the monument installed a huge pink condom with symbols of the platform and the show. For clarity, the authors of the posts present the same nine-second video, and sometimes also photo, taken from a different angle.
Similar posts circulated on VKontakte in the public pages “Ax - storage"(363,000 views at the time of writing this analysis), "№ - News of the day"(214,000), "Advertising masterpieces"(53,000) and Qewbite (30,000), as well as in Telegram channels "VPS"(402,000), "Media Russia is not Moscow 18+"(115,000), "Hooligan 21+" (61,000) and "Special Operation Z” (52,000), where Netflix workers were called “creeps” and “sick people.” In the comments, many users condemned the action. For example, somedidn't like itthat the contraceptive could be seen by children passing by, and in one of the tweets in Spanish (88,000 views) criticized administration of Buenos Aires. Among the media, the video was reported, for example, on the website of the Ukrainian Channel 24, where claimthat the obelisk was “literally covered with a large condom.”
The video shows that there are winches installed on the edges at the bottom of the obelisk, with the help of which the condom placed at the top of the monument is pulled down. Several people are allegedly watching the process, while one of the girls appears to be filming it on a smartphone. However, “Verified” found only one similar video and a single photo on the Internet. The presence of such a meager amount of photographic and video material seems unlikely, given that in the capital of Argentina reside more than 3 million people, and the obelisk is located in the very center of the city. In addition, we were unable to find any announcements or statements about this action from the authorities of Buenos Aires.
The release of the fourth - and last — season of the series “Sexual Education” took place on Netflix on September 21, 2023, and distribution of the condom video began the next day. “Verified” found a viral video on a verified Spanish-language Instagram* page Che Netflixwhere is the publication appeared September 22. At the same time, the post tags the company account Vertex.CGI, in the description of which it is noted that the company specializes in creating viral content, social advertising, promotional videos and visual effects. One of the services on the Vertex website indicated shooting videos lasting 10–12 seconds. using CGI (i.e. computer graphics) for the purpose of viral distribution. Among the company's works there are other videos shot using visual effects. For example, in mid-September within cooperation with Adidas Argentina and the Vertex Buenos Aires Marathon published a video with the same obelisk: two helicopters supposedly flew next to it, transporting a pair of giant sneakers.
Note that on the official Instagram of Netflix Colombia it was also September 22 posted similar video: on the Torre Colpatria skyscraper, located in Bogota, the capital of Colombia, they allegedly put on a similar pink condom using an airship. This video, however, did not cause a significant stir in the Russian-speaking segment of the Internet. In a conversation with “Verified” co-founder Vertex.CGI Nikita Vantorin confirmed that both the Argentine and Colombian videos were created by his company.
On December 1, 2005, World AIDS Day, a pink condom was actually placed on the Buenos Aires obelisk - then city services used taps. At the capital's mayor's office explained, that in this way the authorities wanted to draw the attention of residents to the need to use contraception as a preventive measure in the fight against the “plague of the 21st century.” At the same time, the city administration clarifiedthat the contraceptive symbolizes the fight not only against HIV/AIDS, but also against various sexually transmitted infectious diseases. You can find it on the Internet many pictures that action on various websites from different photographers And agencies.
According to a representative of Vertex.CGI, it was the real installation in 2005 that became the source of inspiration for creating a promo clip for the fourth season of the series “Sexual Education”: “We know that the client was very pleased with the result, because the project is controversial and can cause a powerful negative reaction from the conservative part of society. Everyone took a chance, and the video created a sensation.”
*Russian authorities think Meta Platforms Inc., which owns the social network Instagram, is an extremist organization; its activities in Russia are prohibited.
Cover photo: @vertex.cgi / Netflix
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