Bold HIV Prevention Campaign Claims 'Cure' In Three Cities

LOS ANGELES, LONG BEACH, & BOSTON - An award-winning HIV prevention campaign targeting those already infected is launching a new phase with the provocative slogan, "I AM THE CURE." The national campaign, HIV STOPS WITH ME (www.hivstopswithme.org), employs HIV positive spokesmodels who speak candidly about their personal responsibility not to transmit the virus to others.
This new phase includes print, billboards, targeted venue-based media, educational materials and a website. The campaign launched in Los Angeles on November 9th, in Long Beach on November 10 and Boston on November 13th.
The campaign was created by the San Francisco and New York based social marketing firm Better World Advertising. According to company president, Les Pappas, "We don't know when there will be a vaccine or cure for HIV, but we don't have to wait to stop this epidemic. HIV positive individuals have the power to prevent new infections and they can be the cure. The HIV STOPS WITH ME spokesmodels are doing just that -- they are leading the way in prevention."
The newest element of HIV STOPS WITH ME is an interactive web-based feature through which community members can join the campaign as honorary spokespeople in a "call to action." The new internet feature invites HIV positive people to share their stories on the website with their own personal ad and tagline as a way to encourage all HIV positives to act together to stop HIV transmission.
In Los Angeles, the campaign is sponsored by the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center and the Los Angeles County, Department of Health Services, Office of AIDS Programs and Policy. In Long Beach, the campaign is sponsored by the City of Long Beach Department of Health. In Boston, the campaign is sponsored by JRI Health and the Boston Public Health Commission.
HIV STOPS WITH ME is a social marketing campaign about real people who are HIV positive and live in the community. The selected spokespeople, who number over 40 nationwide, are leading the effort to end new infections. They represent the unique challenges, hopes, fears and successes in facing their role in preventing the further spread of HIV. The campaign's primary goals are to reduce the stigma associated with HIV and to acknowledge the powerful role that HIV positive people have in ending the epidemic. The campaign celebrates the contributions that are made by those most affected by the disease in Boston, Buffalo, Los Angeles, Long Beach, New York City, Oregon, San Francisco, and Seattle.
HIV STOPS WITH ME was nominated for Best Advertising campaign by GLAAD (Gay Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation). HIVSTOPSWITHME.org has won two Webby's People's Voice Award for Best Health Care Website by the International Academy of Digital Artists.
from Press Release