'Toss the Jello Salad,' 'SL,UT' Condom Campaign Killed by Utah Gov.

Utah's Department of Health's plan to distribute 100,000 condoms across the state, turning popular state slogans into witty double entendres, did not sit well with Republican Gov. Gary Herbert.

According to Salt Lake City TV station KSTU, the conservative politician was unamused by the condom wrappers, which had messages like "Greatest Sex on Earth" (taken from the state's motto, "Greatest Snow on Earth), "SL, UT" (for Salt Lake City, Utah), "Toss the Jello Salad," "Fillmore, Beaver," and "This Is the Place" (featuring the image of a bed and satirizing words spoken by Brigham Young when pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley).

The campaign was meant to combat HIV and other sexually transmitted infections in Utah by educating people about safer sex practices. It was a collaboration between the Utah Department of Health and Love Communications. Both agencies also launched a website, HIVandMe.com, in tandem with the campaign.

However, Gov. Herbert put a stop to the initiative mere hours after it went public.

"The governor understands the importance of the Utah Department of Health conducting a campaign to educate Utahns about HIV prevention," spokeswoman Anna Lehnardt told KSTU. "He does not, however, approve the use of sexual innuendo as part of a taxpayer-funded campaign, and our office has asked the department to rework the campaign's branding."

After Herbert pulled the campaign, the health department confirmed that it informed agencies and other businesses that had been distributing the condoms (including bars and other community hangouts) to stop until the campaign was restructured.

A separate campaign the department has curated called "H Is for Human" will soon appear on billboards, TV ads, and transit ads to encourage folks to get tested.

It also promotes HIV prevention measures like PrEP, a strategy that when practiced routinely makes it virtually impossible to contract HIV, and gives opportunities for people to talk about safer sex methods.

"It's all about breaking down barriers, and exposing people to something they either don't know about or don't want to know about," Erin Fratto of the Utah Department of Health Prevention Treatment and Care Program said in a statement.

According to the statistics from the department of health, one person is diagnosed in Utah with HIV every three days. That accounts for 120 new diagnoses in Utah every year.