The Impact of Humour in Digital Ads: A Case Study of Durex Condoms in Achieving SDG-3 (Good Health and Well-Being)

Marketers are increasingly employing creative strategies like infotainment and comedy to engage consumers and touch on sensitive topics in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rapidly evolving digital landscape. This study explores how the humorous digital advertisements for Durex Condoms support the UN Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG-3) and increase public knowledge of sexual health: Target 3.7: Good Health and Well-Being, with special focus on Sexual and Reproductive Health. Durex’s campaigns, particularly the #ComeTogether initiative, are a great illustration of how comedy can be used to bring consent, safe sex, and pleasure inequality into the mainstream conversations in traditionally conservative societies like India. This efficiently reduces stigma and breaks taboos.Using narrative analysis and audience reception studies, this study investigates how Durex employs humor in digital storytelling on social media platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter to promote open conversation, enhance message recall, and evoke behavioral intent in young adults (18–35 years old), the most active demographic on social media. According to the findings, humor improves engagement and shareability while also transforming passive viewers into active participants in public health conversations, which expands the efficacy and reach of sexual health messaging.The study also emphasizes how important humor is for breaking down barriers to communication and cultural resistance, particularly in areas where sexual health is still a sensitive topic. The study evaluates how humor-based content promotes awareness, conversation, and attitudinal changes in line with SDG-3 goals, without directly evaluating health outcomes. For public health communicators, non-governmental organizations, and strategic planners seeking to develop more relatable and successful health campaigns, the obtained findings offer valuable suggestions.Through an analysis of the relationship between comedy, digital marketing, and sustainable development, this study offers a sophisticated perspective on how companies such as Durex might use creative communication efforts to promote social change and global health objectives.