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Sex is a part of human nature. We are intelligent/passionate/irrational...sometimes all three in a few minutes. But is this tactic the best? We need to get to the root of the problem and only then will we get a shift in behavior change. Examples: it took the tobacco community/ industry 30 yrs to change, seatbelt wearing 10 yrs,drinking is still an issue, teen pregnancy - still going on and on the rise, underage drinking on the rise, suicide/suicide attempts continue...does this ad work and esp those w/mentally ill,w/substance abuse? Or does it anger people on both sides negs and pozs. What it does is it encourages arguements not discussion, fragmentation not unity among ourselves, gossip, and fear to disclose status, fear to ask the other person's status...esp in some communities where HIV is already a sitgma. Is this ad really helpful to those minorities communities where HIV is on the rise? Does this ad lack character and dignity. Is this ad a 'Sarah Palin' approach to a more complex issue? Many people would like to see the gay community extinct, including some among us. We fight among ourselves, point fingers, some are self-righteous, self-absorbed, some are not. Does this ad help...esp w/negs and pozs peeps having sex. And maybe for that reason,there is a lot of anger/bitterness. Some that have been around for decades, angry as they saw their friends die, and they have every right...I am just questioning whether that is the right approach? Regardless-this is a poor judgement on an ad. I suggest addressing more the core of the behavior change/mind...no/low self esteem,no/low self preservation, no long term goals, deep depression, etc. Bad call on approving the ad.
I beleieve these types of advertisment is more harmful. People will look at the negative aspect of each advertisment. They will get a message that is speaking to death not life.
Compare the media and societal treatment of cancer with HIV. Can you imagine the outrage with an ad campaign portrayed a woman with breast cancer on her deathbed, discussing how her life was effectively done? It would never happen. We stigmatize HIV because society blames the person who got it, it's their fault for having unprotected sex, they don't get the support people with diseases they couldn't help acquired. That's one way to treat people, I subscribe to another POV. This is a huge step back in terms of HIV acceptance, and it's funny people who fought for societal support in the 80s don't get how this reverses that.
I think this is the best response. No one message can serve as the magic bullet and some people may be scared into thinking twice before they have unprotected sex. The problem is that most people will not be scared into protecting themselves. The research on scare tactics to change behavior have always shown that these approaches have little to no effect on people's actual behaviors. It may change their intentions but when it comes right down to it the research, world-wide, says that scare tactics do not lead to substantial behavior changes. So how much funding is going into these ads verses ads that promote a healthy life? How much funding is going into these ads verses programming to help men deal with issues of self-esteem and examining why we choose to put ourselves at risk. There is no one message and there is no one approach to this problem. We need a comprehensive, coordinated approach that addresses multiple issues through multiple channels. NYCDOHM is living in the dark ages and really does not have a good handle on how to address this epidemic among men and they are desperately grasping at anything that they think might work.
I agree with Larry Kramer. We are approaching 30 years into the official U.S. Aids epidemic and nice ads just do not work. Hey, all HIV'ers have to do is take a cocktail a day. This is the new mantra of our youth. My partner and President of Red Hispana Florida died in Venezuela after an excrutiating painful 2 years of treatments born in Hell; not to mention the financial debt of the co-pays, tests, etc. When we sugar coat the truth, people just are not careful. Here in Broward County Florida, our infection rate is worse than ever with over 600 infections this year; bringing the total to over 16,000 infected people and those are the ones we know about. IT ISN'T JUST HIV. Cudos to the NYC Health Dept. W. JAMES PERIGNY CEO RED HISPANA FLORIDA
I agree with Larry Kramer. We are approaching 30 years into the official U.S. Aids epidemic and nice ads just do not work. Hey, all HIV'ers have to do is take a "cocktail" a day. This is the new mantra of our youth. My partner and President of Red Hispana Florida died in Venezuela after an excrutiating painful 2 years of treatments born in Hell; not to mention the financial debt of the co-pays, tests, etc. When we sugar coat the truth, people just are not careful. Here in Broward County Florida, our infection rate is worse than ever with over 600 infections this year; bringing the total to over 16,000 infected people and those are the ones we know about. IT ISN'T JUST HIV. Cudos to the NYC Health Dept. W. JAMES PERIGNY CEO RED HISPANA FLORIDA
did strong ads ever work for smoking? no. despite warning messages on packaging many continue to smoke. the same applies for hiv.
David
on one hand this advertisement may make some people stop and think about not having unsafe sex, but will it be lasting. On the other hand, having a message that we don't have a cure it is better then not having a message out there at all. I wish the NYC health department had include a more diverse group then that shown.
January 27, 2011