WASHINGTON, Jan. 4— One television spot shows a condom that leaps from a chest of drawers just as a couple, whose sex is unclear, are about to make love. Like a tiny superhero, the condom scurries across the room past a surprised cat and dives under the covers with the pair.

"It would be nice if latex condoms were automatic," an announcer says. "But since they're not, using them should be."

In other announcements, a man or a woman tells an unidentified suitor out of camera range: "I want you -- but there is time for us to be lovers. We will wait until that time comes."

The announcements are part of an effort by the Clinton Administration to persuade young people to use condoms or practice abstinence to protect themselves from AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Clinton officials say that by using the hype of Madison Avenue, the dramatic appeal of soap operas and the clever spiels of rock stars and television actors, they can reach those between the ages of 18 and 25, whom Federal officials describe as in danger of contracting a sexually transmitted disease.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 86 percent of men and 76 percent of women report having had sexual intercourse by the age of 20.

The campaign was unveiled today by the centers and the Health and Human Services Department, which said the four national broadcast television networks, several cable television networks and radio stations would run the public service announcements promoting condom use.

"I salute them for their vision," said Donna E. Shalala, Secretary of Health and Human Services, at a news conference today. 'Very Disappointed'

Not everyone did, however. Msgr. Robert N. Lynch, the General Secretary of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, which encourages abstinence, called the campaign "irresponsible" because it presented condoms as the answer to the AIDS threat.

"The broadcast outlets which are expected to carry this advertising into America's homes would do well to reconsider their public responsibilities and reject this campaign as misguided at best and fatal at worst," he said.

But Dr. David Satcher, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said, "This initiative is based on irrefutable scientific evidence that latex condoms are highly effective at preventing the spread of H.I.V. when they are used consistently and correctly."

All the networks have run public service announcements recommending condom use, but this is the first time that a concerted campaign has been undertaken involving Government agencies and state and local organizations. The first ad was broadcast today on ABC.

The announcements are restrained. No condom is ever shown out of its little square package. No couple is overtly homosexual. But the spots are a long way from announcements broadcast during the Reagan Administration. Those ads tried to demonstrate how to use a condom by showing a man pulling on a sock. The new ads, the work of Ogilvy & Mather, leave no doubt that the issue is sex.

One shows a man and a woman embracing, kicking off their shoes, pulling off an earring and unbuttoning a shirt.

"Did you bring it?" the woman says breathlessly.

"I forgot it," her partner responds.

"Then forget it," the woman says.

Representative Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican, denounced the ads, calling them "an insult to the taxpayers who will be forced to pay for something they find personally and morally offensive."

Act Up, the AIDS advocacy and protest group, also criticized the spots, but for different reasons. In a news release, the group asserted, "Clinton's dancing condoms won't save lives."

The organization complained that the spots do not explain that condoms should be used only with water-based lubricants, and called for more sexually explicit announcements like those that run in Britain.

But Ms. Shalala defended the campaign, saying: "You don't have to hit people over the head. We've learned that scare tactics don't work with young people." Limits by Networks

Nonetheless, some of the networks placed certain restrictions on the ads, particularly one that has two versions. Both feature Denise Stokes, a 24-year-old AIDS counselor from Atlanta, who has had H.I.V. for nine years. In one ad, Ms. Stokes advises sexually active young people to use condoms to prevent AIDS; in the second, she recommends abstinence as the most effective way to prevent disease.

ABC, for example, will show all seven spots. But the network will broadcast the animated condom and the forgotten condom with an added tag line: "Abstinence is safest, but if you do have sex, latex condoms can protect you."

It will broadcast the ad in which Ms. Stokes talks about condom use only after 11 P.M. The spot in which Ms. Stokes recommends abstinence will be shown after 9 P.M., except on Wednesday, when it will broadcast after 9:30 and Friday, after 10 P.M.

Janice Gretemeyer, a spokeswoman for ABC, said the restrictions were necessary because the network has family-oriented shows like "Home Improvement" and "Thea" on those nights. Affiliates' Choice

CBS will broadcast neither the spot featuring Ms. Stokes talking about condom use nor an announcement that promotes the use of latex condoms and encourages viewers to call a toll-free line, (800) 342-AIDS, to receive a free brochure in English or Spanish on how to use a condom.

Both NBC and Fox will broadcast the spots without changes. Local affiliates of any of the networks can choose whether or not to run the announcements.

Health officials said that national cable networks like Cable News Network, Black Entertainment Television, and Univision, a Hispanic cable network, were also considering running the announcements, as were radio stations around the country.

Radio spots are narrated by Jason Alexander, who is George on NBC's "Seinfeld" show, Martin Lawrence from Fox's "Martin" comedy, and the rock star Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Mr. Kiedis talks about the many times he has found himself naked: when he was born, on stage and when he has sex. When he has sex, he says, he uses a condom because "You can be naked without being exposed."

Photo: A condom glides by a cat in a television campaign by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Health and Human Services Department. The spots are an effort by the Clinton Administration to encourage young people to protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases. (Associated Press) (pg. A12)