Brazil scraps 'happy prostitute' ad campaign

The intention was to put a positive spin on legal prostitution and safe sex, but critics slammed the effort for glorifying the trade.

A Brazilian ad campaign aiming to put a positive spin on prostitution hasn't met a happy ending. 

The country's health agency has scrapped the campaign, which featured photos of prostitutes with taglines such as "I'm happy being a prostitute."

"I do not think this is a message the ministry should be sending," Health Minister Alexandre Padilha said, according to the BBC. 

The campaign raised widespread criticism, with some people saying it glorified prostitution, which is legal in Brazil. The ads had been tested on the ministry's website and weren't meant to be published, Padilha said. Other posters had slogans such as "I cannot be seen without a condom, my love."

Demand for prostitution is expected to jump in the next few years, given that the country is hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016. 

Unfortunately, young children are often meeting the demand for sex services, according to a 2010 report by the BBC. The country has been overtaking Thailand as the most popular sex tourist destination, the report noted. 

The campaign is yet another example of an advertising strategy gone wrong. Procter & Gamble (PG 0.00%) this week yanked an ad showing the feminist icon Rosie the Riveter holding a Swiffer mop, while PepsiCo (PEP 0.00%) last month scrapped a Mountain Dew ad that one expert called "arguably the most racist commercial in history."