| História | “Change the name. End the stigma.”F/A/Q addressed HIV stigma by applying market strategy to a global health crisis. “Update HIV” was a campaign to rename, rebrand and rethink HIV, and dissociate a medical condition from years of stigmatisation. A new visual identity, a new tone of voice and an open call for the virus to be renamed gave a sense of ownership of the issue to the young generation that could see an end to HIV transmissions in their lifetime.Inspired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s statement that “language creates the reality it describes”, the campaign was designed to target key members of the HIV prevention community by sparking a new conversation about the global HIV strategy.Rebranding would offer a platform to “update” audiences on the facts and realities of HIV today, helping debunk common myths and misunderstandings about the virus, treatment options and transmission routes. |
| Filosofia | Serviceplan Switzerland, in collaboration with F/A/Q –The Better Health Group (formerly known as ohhh! foundation), Serviceplan Spain, and Mediaplus Germany, have successfully launched a viral campaign on TikTok and Instagram that directly speaks to Generation Z across the globe. The campaign aims to challenge the negative effects of HIV stigma, and advocates for a more informed and compassionate understanding. The #UPDATEHIV campaign, initially launched in 2022 with an open letter to the World Health Organization (WHO) and high-visibility placements in New York City’s Times Square, earned substantial media attention. The social media activation truly came into its own as an online social movement during AfricaBurn 2023, a regional Burning Man festival. At the event, a provocative live installation metaphorically set the HIV stigma ablaze, while an online social experiment with the hashtag #givehivahug demonstrated the empathy and understanding necessary to combat HIV stigma. With over 5.7M views and over 123,000 interactions on TikTok and Instagram, the #updatehiv and #givehivahug hashtags have sparked a global conversation about HIV among Gen Z. The campaign was supported by numerous content creators, including @funnykatty2, @doctor.siya, @ahmad.neu, @callme_thandolwethu, and others. Background of the campaign: an open letter to WHO Kicking off in 2022 at the International AIDS Conference in Montreal, Canada, the campaign called for an update in the perception of HIV, a call supported by high-level politicians, policymakers, and HIV researchers. After gaining momentum at the 2022 UN Global Assembly in New York City, where a digital ‘Update HIV’ campaign placement was activated in Times Square, and campaign messages were on display at the Nasdaq Tower on World AIDS Day, the campaign escalated with an open letter published on World AIDS Day (December 1st, 2022). The letter urged Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) to officially rename HIV, aiming to end decades of fear, stigma, and misinformation. Ghebreyesus responded with a tweet. The open letter called HIV an "epidemic of the mind" that is caused and spread primarily by non-medical factors, and was published in print media including; The Times, Daily Mirror, Handelsblatt and NZZ as well as in digital media and OOH, and accompanied by extensive press coverage and a social media campaign in which influencers spread the campaign message and encouraged people to learn about HIV on the website. Despite the medical advances making HIV preventable and treatable, fear, stigma, and misinformation continue to fuel the epidemic. Changing the narrative around HIV is the first step towards ending this, as Daniel Nagel, CEO of the F/A/Q – The Better Health Group, explains: "Desmond Tutu once said, 'Language creates the reality it describes.' If we’re to end the HIV epidemic, we need to change the way we think about HIV—starting with a new name. Join the Movement: Everyone can contribute to this global effort to update perceptions of HIV. Use the hashtags #updatehiv and #givehivahug on TikTok and Instagram to share your support and let's change the conversation together. For more information on the campaign and its efforts, please visit updatehiv.com |