There has been a bit of a controversy surrounding the new German AIDS awareness campaign by Regenbogen e.V. in conjunction with the advertising agency, Das Comittee. The commercial has been released to coincide with 2009 World Aids Day.

From the Telegraph:

“Of course there are many HIV organisations that run their own campaigns, however I think the advert is incredibly stigmatising to people living with HIV who already face much stigma and discrimination due to ignorance about the virus,” a spokeswoman for the National AIDS Trust, which co-ordinates World Aids Day in Britain, said.

“On top of this it fails to provide any kind of actual prevention message (e.g. use a condom) and may deter people to come forward for testing.

“The advert is also inaccurate because in the UK thanks to treatment HIV is a manageable condition that does not necessary lead to AIDS.”

The shock factor is a common tactic used in the advertising industry, especially when it comes to awareness campaigns such as domestic violence, drink driving and infectious diseases. These ads are pretty graphic, so of course they are going to generate debate, which is probably the intention. It is a fair point to say that it may stigmatise AIDS sufferers, but at the same time, young people are becoming complacent in their attitudes to this virus.

Gone are the days of people dying in agony and wasting away on a hospital bed, now we have highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Patients can live fairly normal and healthy lives, as long as they remain on their medication. So no, it does not mean certain death if one contracts HIV but that should not translate into having a lax attitude towards unsafe sex. HIV is an ongoing concern and millions do die from the virus every year, in developing countries. So the ad is right in saying that the virus is a mass murderer. Sometimes shock may be the only thing that gets people’s attention.