Mixed Signals

Posted by: Nikki   
June 25th,
2007

Have you seen the Valtrex commercial? If you haven’t, let me familiarize you with it. Here’s the scenario….

Man: “I have genital herpes.”

Woman: “And I do not.”

The man and woman are hiking, riding bikes, etc. as a voiceover tells about Valtrex, which is used to treat genital herpes. Now, cut back to man and woman….

Man: “I still have genital herpes.”

Woman: “And I still don’t.”

Both: “And we’re keeping it that way.”

Huh? Why is she still with this guy? Obviously he’s had unprotected sex with someone (who was not his wife or girlfriend) and contracted herpes, yet his wife and/or girlfriend is still with him. What’s that all about? She’s putting herself at risk, even though she may be having protected sex with him.

Condoms aren’t 100% effective, and anything can happen, but you have knowledge beforehand that he has genital herpes. So please explain to me why you’re still with this guy? I know that the commercial shows how you can lead a normal sex life living with genital herpes, but is there something sinister underlying in that Valtrex commercial. Or maybe I’m just reading too much into it.

Yes, the man has herpes, but the bigger problem is why is this woman still there? Did he cheat on her? Is she desperate for a man? I need answers!

This entry was posted on Monday, June 25th, 2007 at 10:17 am and is filed under Let's Talk About Sex. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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19 Responses for "Mixed Signals"

Vic Damone, Jr.
June 25th, 2007 at 11:08 am   

Even more than that, I wonder how the guy in the commericial handles the fact that all of his friends call him the “Herpes guy.” Excluding the money, that would be a tough gig to take on. But there’s probably enough of it involved to where you couldn’t say no.

summer
June 25th, 2007 at 11:25 am   

I didn’t think it was sinister or related to cheating. I always assumed that he had it before they met, and the commercial is for people who find themselves in that situation.

Nikki
June 25th, 2007 at 11:29 am   

Summer, that’s one way to view it. But I just wanna know why she’s putting herself at risk by staying with him. Love is a powerful thing, but I love myself enough not to put myself at risk.

C.
June 25th, 2007 at 11:57 am   

I’ve seen that commercial and it boggles my mind as well. Why are they so calm? What the heck is really going on?

Hostess
June 25th, 2007 at 12:29 pm   

Nikki,

Step away from the remote. You done went and tried to turn a commercial into a mini-series. I think the bigger questions is: How much money is a drug company making by insisting that someone takes this drug once a day for the rest of their life.

melette
June 25th, 2007 at 1:27 pm   

Nikki, you are too deep for regular TV. Stop watching commercials. LOL!!!

glory
June 25th, 2007 at 2:00 pm   

they were dating and they liked each other a lot and then they went to do it and he told her he had herpes and then she was like, dag that’s messed up what can we do, and he was like, well, i’ll take valtrex and we can use condoms, and she was like okay that’ll have to do cause i just love you so much that i can’t be so worried about getting herpes that i decide not to be with you…

you rock my world.

and so there’s the background to the plot of the commercial. ta da!

A_Str8
June 25th, 2007 at 2:14 pm   

I looked at it the way Summer did. I always wondered at what point in the relationship he told her. If he told her early on, I imagine she would be out - cause who would run that risk with someone they just went on a few dates with. If he told her later on, she’d be pissed cuz he’d been putting her at risk the whole time without her knowing. Maybe they were abstinent for a long time until he finally admitted it wasn’t because of his strong religious beliefs.

lis
June 25th, 2007 at 3:18 pm   

i am cracking up at how you went deep with that! you got questions and everything. nik… walk awaaaaaaaaaay from the boob tube!

Abraham B
June 25th, 2007 at 3:37 pm   

Herpes is widespread. I have come to that realization. I do not have it, but at least 1 in 5 do. The thing that gets me is that I have known about Valtrex for 10 years. Don’t all herpes people know about this drug? Or is this commercial for potential mates to know there is a way to “reduce the risk” ? I see they advertise A.I.D.S. drugs on Myspace now…. I guess this thing is bigger than all of us.

Mwabi
June 25th, 2007 at 3:46 pm   

LOL @ folks saying Nikki too deep with her tv viewership! I also looked at it the way Summer and em did.

Hopluv
June 25th, 2007 at 5:38 pm   

I believed that he had it prior to them meeting. The commercial is basically saying that maintaining a regular regime of Valtrex you can not infect someone else and have a normal sexual relationship. One must really care/love their partner to maintain a relationship knowing that they have a disease such a herpes, AIDS/HIV etc. However, it does happen and this commercial is showing open and honest communication - which allows the none infected partner to make a choice.

Tiki
June 26th, 2007 at 7:04 am   

What IIIII wanna know is who goes hiking, windsurfing, caroling, and whatnot after being given a sentence of herpes for life? Aren’t you suppose to be going through your palm pilot tryna figure out which skanky broad gave it to you in the first place? Orrrr sitting in a dark corner of your house sobbing uncontrollably?

One thing that’s for certain is that some people carry the herpes virus for years, just lying dormant. In some cases, it takes a condition or an illness to cause it to run rampant.

The other thing I’m curious about are the characters. Can a person who does a commercial such as Herpes and Erectile Dysfunction, carry on in their everyday life without being labeled as mister limpdyck or miss/mister herpes haven?

lola gets
June 26th, 2007 at 10:08 am   

Dan Savage wrote about this issue in his last column. He held a different viewpoint than the other commenters - go check it out.

http://thestranger.com/savage

L

Luke Cage
June 26th, 2007 at 11:01 am   

LOL @ Step away from the remote. You done went and tried to turn a commercial into a mini-series. - that IS a funny ass commercial though.. you know my sick ass laughs at anything. “I have genital herpes. And I do not”… dayum. Sounds like she’s taunting the dude!

Amadeo
June 26th, 2007 at 3:49 pm   

Here’s the real one:
Man: I have genital herpes.
Woman: What!?!?! This is over!!!

Young Miss
June 26th, 2007 at 10:33 pm   

LOL… and why do they make genital herpes look so fun with them doing all sorts of fun outdoor activities? LOL

That commercial is an absolute mess. You’re right!

El
June 28th, 2007 at 11:11 am   

Dang Nik, why dude gotta be a cheat? Uhhh perhaps the recent divorcee may have contracted genital herpes from his ex wife who cheated on him with a carrier of the disease and is now trying to get back into the dating scene.

Psun
June 29th, 2007 at 10:52 am   

This whole scenario is just weird. If I go on a couple dates, and they tell me, then I will just be like… we can be cool friends, but we aint fukkin.

If they let me know after we been kickin it, and we havent had sex… that is shady. And heaven forbid they tell me AFTER we had sex. I might have to have someone beat your azz like Foxy Brown’s ex did her… lol

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