HIV and the Impact of Advertising

In the late 1980’s, the ‘Don’t Die Of Ignorance’ AIDs campaign aimed to scare people and it arguably worked. Through one of the biggest UK government health campaigns, infection rates dropped in the UK. However, in response to the epidemic, what was the long term impact of creating an apocalyptic style TV advert aimed to create fear of a disease?

At the beginning of HIV epidemic, in many countries gay men were seen to be responsible for the transmission of HIV. Sensational reporting in the press, which became increasingly homophobic, fuelled this view. Headlines such as “Alert over ‘gay plague’” and “‘Gay plague’ may lead to blood ban on homosexuals” demonised the LGBT community.

On Worlds Aids Day, 4Talks will discuss how these stigmas and stereotypes affect the current issues faced by those living with HIV today. What are the barriers for us moving forward in tackling the global AIDs epidemic and ultimately what does the advertising industry need to know when considering the long terms impact of marketing for good.