According to the caption for this video, it was the first time condoms were advertised on television, in 1975.
It uses a well-known Bible passage from Ecclesiastes. The fact that they were advertising condoms on television at all had to have been controversial in 1975, the same year that “The Pill” by Loretta Lynn was banned by more than 80 radio stations from Boston all the way down to the South, right? And I imagine the fact that they used a Bible passage made it even more controversial?
Shows you how much I paid attention in Religious Instruction (got nicely kicked out when I was about 7-- long story), the first thing I thought of was Rapper’s Delight.
In some ways broadcast television in 1975 was more sexually tolerant and permissive than in 2022. We had topless breast exam demos on the 5:00 news. Women’s nipples were evident beneath sweaters and blouses on prime time TV shows. Without lopsided competition from uncensored cable TV, broadcasters pushed the envelope in the 1970s.
The National Association of Broadcasters code at that time prohibited the advertising of condoms - also hard liquor, doctors and lawyers services and a number of other things. Condoms weren’t advertised on network television until 1991. (Naturally, the first network to accept them was Fox.) According to Broadcasting Magazine, the Trojan commercial was first carried on only two TV stations in 1975 (although they did squeak on to three more by the end of the year.) The first time the commercial aired on TV, the magazine reported the station received 100 protest calls.
