AIDS Council of NSW launches third installment of successful ‘Ending HIV’ campaign via Frost*

Sydney agency Frost* has created the third installment of their highly successful, multi-phased Ending HIV campaign, for the AIDS Council of NSW (ACON).

Launched to coincide with Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras festival this month, the new creative focuses on encouraging gay men to test for HIV more frequently, as a key element in the fight to end new infections of the virus in Australia by 2020.

The brief from ACON advised that many of the new infections of HIV in NSW result from gay men who believe they are negative, but who in fact, do not know their status because they are not getting testing often enough. However, since the availability of a rapid testing service that offers results in just 30 minutes, many of the barriers to HIV testing are now removed. This campaign aims to encourage all gay men to up frequency of testing from once to twice a year, as a critical part of the plan to end HIV by 2020.

In response, Frost* has created an integrated campaign which cohesively links with earlier phases of the Ending HIVprogram, with the use of bold, graphic language inspired by early 20th Century revolutionary posters, and iconic ‘Choose Life’ t-shirts from 80s band Wham! The visual language of mass-mobilisation is used to inform gay men that it is now easier and faster to know their HIV status than ever before, with headlines ‘know now’ and ‘easy as’ converged into a single word. The use of bright orange to highlight the word-within-a-word, is drawn from the brand colour of the rapid testing program, [TEST], drawing a direct link back to the action.

The Test More phase follows on from I’m In, which raised awareness of the fact that ending HIV is possible and also launched at Mardi Gras, in 2013, and then the Stay Safe phase, which reinforced the message about condom use. TheTest More phase rolled out as a take over of the streets of inner-city Sydney during the Mardi Gras festival, with metro-lights, street posters, t-shirts and merchandise for volunteers, press, social and digital media executions, as well as a branded float and for last weekend’s Mardi Gras parade, ACON’s biggest yet.

Says Vince Frost, founder and executive creative director of Frost*: “This campaign has been one of the most satisfying projects we’ve been involved in, because the evidence is that the message is cutting through and behavior is changing. Ending HIV is a vitally important mission, not just here in Australia but for the whole world and It’s exciting to be a part of making that a reality.”

Says Nicholas Parkhill, CEO of ACON: “One of our key objectives is to get gay men to test more, treat early and stay safe. Increasing testing rates among gay men is vital, because HIV is generally transmitted by people who don’t know they have it. Once people know their status, they can take action to improve their health outcomes and prevent passing on the virus. And the only way they can know their status is to get tested regularly, at least twice a year.”

This work is the sixth full scale campaign Frost* has developed for ACON, as well as other projects including World AIDS Day last year. The Ending HIV campaign has won recognition in the Sydney Design Awards and Create Design Awards, amongst others and the Slip It On campaign Frost* created for ACON is exhibited in the Museum of Sex in New York City.

Client: AIDS Council of NSW (ACON) and NSW Health

Account Director: Charlotte Brady