These pictures are from a Canadian ad campaign which displays images of bacteria and viruses with gift tags attached.
I think this is a very interesting series of ads, and I think its effectiveness lies in its simplicity. They are accurate in that each image represents what each STD looks like at the cellular level, and I commend the creators for not adding goriness where non was needed. I'm not sure who the ads are targeting, but I think they would be effective for any age group that understood what they were looking at.
There is an obvious level of visual literacy assumed with these ads- you'd see them in a pricier magazine, perhaps on the street (as it's not blatantly obvious that they're about sex), or perhaps in another form of intimate print interaction. At that level, the viewer is expected to be curious enough to seek their own information. I think these ads go far to insight curiousity, as well as convey the general air of mystery surrounding some of these STD's. It's kind of impossible to tell if someone has them until they've given them to you, so the idea that you can't really grasp the ad until you've taken a closer look and become intimate with it goes far to communicate that idea. And yes, it is admirable when an ad agency doesn't automatically resort to the "gore factor" in order to scare people, but these images are unnerving and frightening, make no mistake.
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