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Elton John, one of pop’s most flamboyant dressers, insists that the indispensable accessory in today’s wardrobe is the condom. “Life is in fashion these days,” he says in an upcoming public-service announcement. “Protect yourself.”
The singer’s Elton John AIDS Foundation is teaming with the MAC AIDS Fund for a safe-sex campaign targeting youth. John, R&B diva Mary J. Blige and Shirley Manson of rock band Garbage have taped 30-second spots that begin airing Feb. 19 on MTV and VH1, with BET to follow. The trio also joins MAC’s Viva Glam campaign, with ads running in April and May in such magazines as Vanity Fair, Elle, Vogue, W, In Style and Essence. All proceeds from Viva Glam lipstick sales go to MAF, which has raised $25 million since 1994.
Each PSA, shot in a stark room with a white bed, intercuts shots of 100 New York teens with the stars. “If you don’t respect yourself,” Blige says, “who will?” All three PSAs end with the warning: “AIDS Ain’t Over.”
MAC Cosmetics president John Demsey says John, Blige and Manson “are perfect spokespeople for this PSA because their creative expression appeals to all races, all sexes, all ages.”