A new series of public service announcements on CBS is encouraging couples to give prostate exams and pap smears as gifts to each other on Hannukah and Christmas. Are the "CBS Cares" PSAs helping to improve public health—or just creating unnecessary holiday awkwardness? (Watch CBS' Christmas Pap smear PSA, Hanukkah Pap smear PSA, Christmas prostate PSA, and Hanukkah prostate PSA)
They're just... inappropriate: Pap smears and prostate exams are definitely "important," says Gabe Delahaye at Videogum. But neither could ever be mistaken for a gift. "An Xbox 360 is a gift. This is a routine medical exam." If you take CBS's advice, your significant other will probably say something like: "I will get my own pap smears, thanks. I hope that at the very least you also got me a real present, because obviously this is gross AND insufficient."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.