Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2000. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
San Francisco Chronicle - Tuesday, September 19, 2000
Christopher Heredia, Chronicle Staff Writer
Instead of running the 30-second spot during the afternoon Rosie O'Donnell and Oprah shows, KGO Channel 7 has offered to run the ad after 10 p.m., when most children have gone to bed.
The message, paid for by the San Francisco Department of Public Health, is designed to get HIV- positive gay and bisexual men to help stop the spread of the AIDS virus. The ads show bare-chested men and one male-to-female transgender, crossing her arms over her bare chest and holding her nipples.
The actors encourage other HIV-positive men and women to practice safe sex and be honest with their partners about their status.
A KGO official said the ads, which bear the slogan `HIV stops with me,' were "eye-popping."
The ads arrive on the heels of a Health Department study released last month that found that the rate of HIV infection among gay men in San Francisco is climbing at an alarming pace.
A Better World, a San Francisco advertising agency, purchased the spot to run during the afternoon talk shows that researchers have discovered are popular with gay and bisexual men -- at 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. respectively.
"When you're watching a show, you have a level of expectation in the show," said David Metz , KGO director of programing services. "With a Rosie episode, with 'NSYNC, or another pop culture guest on, it would be a little eye-popping for a commercial like this to show up."
Les Pappas, president of A Better World, which created the $345,000 campaign for the Health Department, called the station's decision homophobic. Metz denied there was any prejudice on the station's part.
"Unequivocally, that's not the case," Metz said. "We do this with every spot. Everyone gets looked at and evaluated to make sure we're treating everyone the same."
Pappas said they do not want the ad to run after 10 p.m.
"We've done research to find out what our target audience is watching, and they're watching Rosie and Oprah. We don't want to be relegated or banished until after 10 p.m." Pappas said.
"It's like they're afraid of offending somebody," added Pappas, a gay man, who said he has seen more racy activity in other ads on the same afternoon-soap slot. "I think it's absurd. We're in the year 2000 in the city of San Francisco. We made a proper, effective TV commercial that's not going to offend anyone."
New HIV infections in San Francisco increased from 498 in 1997 to 790 last year, according to the Health Department study. The 573 new infections last year among gay men were more than double the 283 infections recorded in that group in 1997.
Some AIDS experts have characterized the rates of infection among gay men in San Francisco as "sub-Saharan," referring to the AIDS epidemic sweeping Africa.
A representative of the Department of Public Health could not be reached for comment.
"We applaud the effort they're putting forth in confronting this important issue, but we have to take into consideration the fact there are people out there who may be watching with their 6-year- old or 7-year old child or grandchild," Metz said.
"We have to look at it from all perspectives."
E-mail Christopher Heredia at cheredia@sfchronicle.com.
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