Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1995. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1995. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Reuters NewMedia, Inc. - 1 Dec 1995
Joanne Kenen / Reuter
Featuring young people talking candidly among themselves about sex, AIDS, condoms -- as well as virginity and abstinence -- the ads are fast paced and contemporary in tone and style.
"If you don't like these ads, you're old," said Secretary of Health and Human Resources Donna Shalala.
In 1993, AIDS became the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 25 and 44. Many of them became infected years earlier, as adolescents.
"What we have is a generation in jeopardy," Shalala said.
The public service announcements, which television and radio stations will air free of charge, touch on a range of themes, ranging from "safe" sex with condoms to choosing not to have sex until marriage.
"What do I say to a guy who won't use a condom? Good-bye!" says a pretty young woman named Vivian who appears in several of the ads.
One of the ads depicts young men talking about sex, and that is supposed to be aimed at young gay men, although the targeting seems subtle.
"I'm HIV-negative, and I intend to stay that way," says Dwayne, a youth who appears in that segment.
The commercials are more explicit than a previous series although Shalala said they have been criticized both by those who think they go too far, and those who think they do not go far enough.
One conservative group, the Family Research Council, called the ads an "irresponsible use of federal funds" that rely on the "flawed premise that there is nothing wrong or harmful about teen-agers having sex."
But some advocacy groups, including the AIDS National Interfaith Network, praised the campaign for including "a range of prevention messages to young men and women, both gay and heterosexual, to those who are currently sexually active, as well as to those who choose to abstain from sexual relations until they commit to a long term, monogamous relationship."
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