TROY – Last week, management at Somerset Collection, a mall known for its upscale shops and clientele, forced the store Armani Exchange to remove a store window display designed to promote HIV/AIDS prevention and education during the weeks leading up to Valentine's Day.
The displays, which feature hundreds of red condoms in the shape of a giant heart, are up in stores in 76 malls around the country, including Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi, Mich. The only mall in the country to ban the display is Somerset.
Armani Exchange partnered with the National AIDS Fund to promote HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention with their "Give Love, Get Love" campaign. The images in the campaign are designed to embrace and inspire romance, but remind people both individually and collectively to act responsibly.
HIV/AIDS is a world-wide epidemic that has killed millions of people since it was first identified in 1981. Up to 40 million people around the globe have been infected by HIV.
Locals are unhappy about the move, which has sparked controversial conversations on both sides. While some argue that the display could have offended parents of small children while shopping, others claim that the importance of the display far overpowers the conservative sentiments of a few. "The self-described "epicenter for luxury retail in the State of Michigan," the Somerset Collection, appears to be stuck in the dark ages," commented Brandon Miller of Royal Oak on his blog.
The Michigan AIDS Coalition, which was formed at the beginning of 2008 by a merger between the Midwest AIDS Prevention Project and the Michigan AIDS Fund, voiced their displeasure over the decision. "The Somerset Collection was perceived by many in metro Detroit to be a cool, trendy and popular mall," said Craig Covey, interim CEO of the Michigan AIDS Coalition. "That the management of this mall could make such a backward and boneheaded decision is mind-boggling. AIDS and condom promotion may have been controversial to some in the 1980s, but today Americans understand the importance and seriousness of prevention education and safer sex."
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