Can lottery-style contests encourage young people to practice safe sex?

Last week, Switzerland’s government announced that it will distribute around 400k condoms to the public from June to October as the latest plank in its “Love Life’ campaign to raise awareness of HIV prevention. The campaign is supported by non-governmental groups AIDS Foundation Switzerland and Swiss Sexual Health.

The condoms, which are being handed out at swimming pools, clubs and festivals, feature packaging that contains a lottery ticket with a specific code. Users can check the code via the Love Life website to see if they’ve won one of 3,500 prizes donated by various private companies that are co-sponsoring the campaign.

The available prizes include everything from bicycles, lawnmowers, electronics and clothes to holiday packages. The ‘Suit Up and Win’ campaign is being promoted through a series of cheeky promos, a sample of which can be viewed at the bottom of this article.