Safe texts: Durex is pushing for a condom emoji
Condom manufacturer Durex has issued a request to the group responsible for the emoji approval process, the Unicode Consortium, arguing the case for a new condom emoji.
Durex, owned by London-listed Reckitt Benckiser, first called for a new condom emoji to be approved ahead of World AIDS Day last November, on the basis that it could help promote safe sex. Now the company has repeated its case for a new keyboard symbol, ahead of a Unicode Consortium meeting this week.
In an "open text message" circulated on Twitter, Durex said, via a mixture of text and emojis, that the benefits of a condom emoji "are clear to see, it's not rocket science".
"Emojis have changed how young people communicate about the birds and the bees. A safe sex emoji will empower them to talk openly about protection," the company continued.
"This is vital to prevent STIs including HIV and AIDS."
The suggested emoji might come as a bit of a shock to innocent mobile users, but as Durex pointed out earlier this year, people "don't want to talk about sex with fruit & veg emojis."
The company has been tweeting motivational, pro-condom emojis messages over the past few months, and seems to believe it will succeed in its quest:
🍆💄🚀🌽🍌🌭🌵 but still no official #CondomEmoji 😭 Our day will come! 😄
— Durex Global (@durex) February 17, 2016