7-Eleven Ads in Norway Warn About Growing Number of STDs

A Norwegian 7-Eleven store drew attention to the rise in a sexually transmitted disease when it developed its “Welcome to Norway! The Land of Chlamydia” campaign.

The message warns the country’s citizens and tourists about the use of condoms to protect oneself from the spread of STDs. The posters and TV ad depict a young Norwegian couple in front of the amazing fjords and mountains the country is well-known for. The ad is also seen at Oslo Central Station.

According to Stein Ove Rolland of Visit Norway said the advertisement is not a good thing for the country, as it makes people think Norwegians are lewd and sex-crazy. However, NGO said more than 26,000 chlamydia cases were diagnosed in 2016 because locals are not using condoms when having sex.

However, 7-Eleven stands by its ads, which it claims it’s using to boost awareness and get conversations going.

Due to 7-Eleven’s ads, Norway health officials released information from 2017:

• There were 25,130 new cases of chlamydia – 29 of them were of the lymphogranuloma venereum.
• Majority of the cases were seen in the 20 to 24-year-old range – men and women.
• The highest number of cases were seen in Oslo.
• Over 360,000 people tested for chlamydia.

Department of Public Health Director Hilde Klovstad said chlamydia is one STD that doesn’t show symptoms.