Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1995. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Associated Press - 4 Dec 1995
These ads, successors to the "dancing condoms" spot of 1994, use Generation Xers themselves as role models, offering frank advice to peers in video clips clearly aimed at capturing the attention of those weaned on MTV.
Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, who was unveiling the ads Thursday with other Clinton administration health officials, said, "Young adults are the group that's at risk. You've got to go directly at them and be very clear."
The $400,000 spots include blunt advice to buy condoms as well as a pitch to avoid sex -- even for those who have lost their virginity.
One of the pitchmen is a young gay man, Dwayne, who says, "I'm HIV-negative and I intend to stay that way."
All 12 television and seven radio spots end with the campaign's theme: "Respect Yourself, Protect Yourself."
All of the major TV networks have agreed to run the public service announcements, developed by the ad agency Ogilvy & Mather under a contract with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The government estimates that the last AIDS prevention ads unveiled in January 1994 got $30 million worth of free air time. Those included a fanciful ad in which a condom sprang to life and darted beneath the sheets with a lovemaking couple.
In an abstinence spot, Tami says, "The safest form of sex is no sex." She adds that she practices "secondary virginity ... which means I've had sex in the past and now I've stopped. The next time I will have sex will be when I get married."
In an ad promoting condoms, Dwayne says, "If I'm going to have sex, it's going to be protected, and if it's not going to be protected, it's not going to be sex."
In another ad, Vivian says, "If you have a condom and your partner doesn't, you just say, `Here, put this on."'
Gracie Hsu, a policy analyst for the conservative Family Research Council, said, "Overall, they are troubling. We have no problems with the abstinence ads."
But most start "with the flawed premise that kids are having sex. If you look at the statistics, less than half of high schoolers have had sex even once," she said. "It's irresponsible for HHS to be condoning teen-age sex."
Shalala said, "Some people will say we're too explicit. Some will say we're not explicit enough, which means we're probably just about right."
AIDS is caused by a deadly virus for which there is no known cure. A half-million Americans have contracted the disease and 300,000 have died. The government estimates between 650,000 and 900,000 Americans are living with the infection. It is the leading cause of death for those 25 to 44.
Forty thousand Americans are infected each year. "We've just got to get people to wake up and change their behavior," Shalala said.
Copyright 1995/The Associated Press. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Permissions Desk, The Associated Press, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020.
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Copyright © 1995 - Associated Press. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the AP Permissions Desk.
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