Taking Valentine's Day by the balls: why a nonprofit is sending cards to testicles

Introducing 'Cards to Nards'

NEW YORK, Feb. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As we observe the first Valentine's Day since the overturn of Roe v. Wade in the United States, a true act of love looks different this year, with chocolates and flowers just not cutting it. Conversations around reproductive care and family planning have always been one-sided, with those who can get pregnant being held responsible for birth control, when 100% of unwanted pregnancies are caused by testicles. Enter: "Cards to Nards," a campaign from global nonprofit World Vasectomy Day that allows you to send greeting cards directly to testicles so they can learn about vasectomies as an easy and effective form of contraception.  

According to research from sex toy brand EdenFantasys, people not only have more sex on Valentine's Day, they also claim to have better sex on the holiday. So, how can we keep the sexiness of Valentine's Day alive, while leveling the contraceptive playing field? It's time to start talking directly to testes since they can't get pregnant, but they can help take some of the burden off those who can.

Creator and comedian Ilana Glazer, who is passionate about abortion rights and reproductive health equity, has teamed up with World Vasectomy Day for the initiative to help raise awareness about the importance of considering a post-Roe vasectomy. In a video PSA, Glazer incorporates her comedic energy and tongue-in-cheek tone while reading lines from the cards and sharing key campaign message points.

"I know several people who've gotten vasectomies, but I don't hear it being talked about very much! So, I was glad to help WVD spread the message of considering a post-Roe vasectomy as a way to play a role in birth control," said Glazer.

The Cards to Nards initiative, created by independent advertising agency Tombras, redefines what a true act of love means this Valentine's Day—and beyond.

The campaign includes:

• A series of limited-edition physical cards
• Custom-made upside-down heart lollipops (which bear a striking resemblance to testicles) that say "Unwanted Pregnancy Sucks"
• Digital cards available via cardstonards.com
• A series of wild out-of-home postings around New York City
• A call-to-action to share the cards on social media using the hashtag #CardstoNards
• Social channels include IG: @world.vasectomy.day and Twitter: @WorldVasDay
• A select number of people who share #CardstoNards on Instagram or Twitter will be eligible to win physical Cards to Nards greetings, as well as our custom-made lollipops.

Jonathan Stack, co-founder of World Vasectomy Day, said, "At WVD, we are always seeking ways to link one's personal choice to get a vasectomy to the collective impact this profound act of love has for what matters most. Be it the well-being of our children, the health of our partner, the future of the planet, or access to a safe abortion everywhere, we believe that being kind and compassionate includes fighting for all of our reproductive rights. This brilliant campaign from Tombras creates awareness of vasectomies at a time when the options to avoid unwanted pregnancy in the U.S. are under attack. What better moment than Valentine's Day to remind the world of this beneficial choice."

Lindsay Stein, chief purpose officer of Tombras, said, "We want to make a meaningful impact in this post-Roe world, and partnering with World Vasectomy Day allows us to go directly to the source of unwanted pregnancies. By increasing awareness about and consideration for getting a vasectomy, we hope to help balance the longstanding inequitable scales of reproductive health. We're very proud of this purpose-driven work." 

For those of you who are concerned about Cards to Nards disappearing after Valentine's Day, have no fear. The website will live on after February, with World Vasectomy Day planning to introduce new cards for relevant holidays and tentpole moments throughout the year, such as Earth Day, Mother's Day and Father's Day.

Note: "Nards" is slang for testicles or scrotums. 

About World Vasectomy Day
World Vasectomy Day is a registered nonprofit organization. Founded in 2013, WVD is the largest male-focused sexual and reproductive health movement, committed to encouraging and educating the population on the positive inclusion of men in family planning and reproductive health. Working with ministries of health, family planning organizations, and individual medical providers, World Vasectomy Day has built or enhanced vasectomy programs in Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Colombia, Haiti, Uganda, India, and many others, providing over 100,000 procedures to date, and creating hundreds of publicity campaigns, testimonial videos, and educational films to help build support for male engagement around the world. For more information, visit wvd.org.

About Tombras
Tombras is one of the top independent agencies in North America. We're impact-driven, creative storytellers with performance at the heart of everything we do. Connecting Data + Creativity for Business Results® is our guiding mission. The foundation beneath it all is independence, which has been a force multiplier in the data + creativity equation, allowing us to invest and reinvest in our people and technology. From strategy, creative and media to digital design and development, a social media command center, ecommerce, in-house production, a trade desk and customer experience lab and much more, we do it all with nearly 500 strategists, creatives, designers, copywriters, media specialists, data scientists, researchers, tech and social media experts, producers, and directors. For more information, visit tombras.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Laura Mansfield, APR
[email protected]
865.599.9968

SOURCE World Vasectomy Day