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Sun, Feb 14, 2010
The New Paper
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Ris Low’s slip-up on online safe-sex demo
by Bryna Sim

AN ONLINE video featuring Ris Low “teaching” viewers how to use condoms has upset Espire Condoms, which chose Ris to be their youth spokesman a month ago.

It said it had not been consulted on her appearance in the video, produced by an online portal.

The video has garnered 90,000 hits since it was uploaded eight days ago.

Titled ‘Safe Sex with Ris Low’, it shows the controversial former Miss Singapore-World slipping condoms on bananas of various sizes.

The video has drawn flak from netizens, some of whom feel that it trivialises an important issue and teaches incorrect techniques.

Said Ms Joy Tan, executive director of Zander Asia, which owns Espire:“They (producers) approached Ris directly and she went ahead without our knowledge. We are also upset by the video as it portrayed Ris in a silly manner.”

The three-minute video shows Ris seated behind a table dressed in a white unbuttoned jacket and a clearly visible lacy pink and black bra.

She uses bananas of three different sizes – small, medium, and large – as her props. The video shows her trying to slide the condoms onto each of them.

Bloopers of her failing to slide the condoms successfully onto one of the bananas, and of her accidentally peeling off the banana skin while trying to remove the condom are left unedited.

There is also a scene where Ris applies warm lubricant jelly to her nails, which she calls a “fashion tip”.

The show drew about 100 comments from viewers. Most of them called the video “stupid”, “silly”, and “horrifying”.

Some viewers said the video was “mean” and seemed to make fun of Ris. One said that there was “a sick vibe of cruel mocking” embedded within the video.

Others said they found it “funny” and “amusing”.

The director of the online portal, Ms Gillian Tan, said the video was meant to be “funny”.

“The purpose of making the video was for entertainment,” she said. “I agree with those who say it’s silly, as it is not to be taken seriously. We left the bloopers in because people love to watch them.”

Ms Tan said that the video was done late last month, and the shoot was completed in one sitting. She insisted that it was not done for any financial gain.

Ms Tan explained that “nothing in the video was scripted”.

“Ris is simply portraying herself. We asked her to introduce herself and gave her only simple instructions. Other than that, she had the freedom to be whoever she was,” she said.

In the video, Ris introduces herself as a “former beauty queen” who “coined the words Boomz, Shingz, Red Bigini, and Leopard Preens”.

When contacted over the phone, Ris, who is studying for a diploma in hospitality and tourism , told The New Paper that the video was meant to be “light-hearted”.

“I had a lot of fun doing it, and I did it because I wanted to help people know about safe sex in a funny way,” she said.

She claimed that Espire was aware of the video, and that they were “fine” with it.

Both Ms Tan and Ris added that there was no pin-pointing of any condom brand in the video, which was why they did not see a problem with going ahead with it.

But Espire’s Ms Joy Tan said she was unhappy that the portal bypassed their company and approached Ris directly.

In addition, she felt that Ris was portrayed in a way that was “unfair to her and our brand”.

She would have preferred 19-year-old Ris to be “portrayed fairly, as she is still a very young girl”.

When asked to comment on the video, Action for AIDS (AfA) spokesman Lionel Lee said: “We believe that the video is meant to be humorous and is not meant to educate.”

He also praised Ris for advocating condom usage, and said that she has done a “commendable job” of promoting safe sex.

But, he added, if AfA were to do an educational video on safe sex, “we might make use of humour, but present the content differently”.

According to the Media Development Authority of Singapore, it has received feedback on the contents offered on the portal and is looking into the matter.

This article was first published in The New Paper.

readers' comments
The promoter is stupid. Ris Low is doing her job as required by this funny video. To be more effective in bringing safe sex message, Ris Low may try to show the public the myth of wearing condom. Some are not comfortable with condom. There is also problem with burst condom upon penetration thus risking HIV infection. Ris Low did a good job in my opinion as a student.
Posted by humbug8181 on Mon, 15 Feb 2010 at 14:34 PM
Oh OMG.....what is this video up to? I tend to laugh at it first view and subsequent view making myself in the state that who is the HELL has created such video. It seem from attire, expression, objective of it or what is trying to tell viewer???

Using banana will be able to educate? Then I will use AH MING....too bad She has reported to Haven and I think Ah Ming also got no EYE to watch someone trying to use Banana to educate public. I believed Banana has been used as aan object in pron show just to maturbate etc by pron maker.

It is laughing if authority is using such method to educate the public....I believed youngster ot teenager will laugh till death too.

Therr is many means to demo....and better attire...as Ris no need to show her bra .....
Posted by JusticeVin on Sun, 14 Feb 2010 at 20:17 PM

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