The silence
With the message "You can't hide it forever - talk about STIs", the Love Life campaign with Havas Worldwide Zurich is entering a new round.
WW: The FOPH's AIDS campaigns have now been running for 25 years. What part has Havas Worldwide Zurich (formerly Euro RSCG) played in this history?
Frank Bodin: We have been in charge of this mandate for eight years, so our share is around a third. From the very beginning, the Stop AIDS campaign has been characterized by popularity, wit and spirit. We are proud to be able to continue a good tradition to this day.
With which idea did your team achieve the greatest impact?
With a long-term strategic guiding principle, with which we laid the foundation in 2004: "Protect yourself and your partner for the love of life." In line with this, we evolved the existing, imperative claim "Stop Aids!" into the new brand "Love Life" in conjunction with a condom. The strategy was also the basis for the style: sexuality should be fun, and so should our prevention campaign. You can achieve more with joy, humor and charm than with finger-pointing, fear-mongering and death threats. We have also introduced a new cross-media approach in which online is the central medium.
Euro RSCG initiated "Love Life". Was it easy to sell this change of course to a very broad committee?
I remember the pitch in 2004 very well. We only entered the race with this one strategy and only with a campaign based on it because we were convinced of it. The FOPH shared this conviction. Even though there are various committees and even though this campaign can sometimes become a political issue, the decision-making processes at the FOPH are exemplary, lean and very well organized.
Has the idea now also been taken up by international campaigns?
Our ideas have also attracted international attention and are regarded as a benchmark for prevention campaigns. There have also been requests to take over campaigns, and one or two campaign elements have certainly inspired people abroad.
Preventive measures around the topic of sexual life also harbor taboo zones for some of the population. How did Havas Worldwide Zurich deal with this challenge?
On the one hand, the topic requires a great deal of sensitivity and the perception in the language regions of Switzerland is sometimes very different. On the other hand, we are forced to reach the Swiss population with little advertising money. Two things helped us in this balancing act. Firstly, our prosumer database, which allows us to gain valuable insights and test campaign ideas. Secondly, the fact that we are one of the very few agencies in Switzerland to have a strong branch in French-speaking Switzerland, Havas Worldwide Genève, and can therefore respond better to linguistic and cultural differences. A campaign that pleases everyone is not possible and should never be the goal. Those who position themselves do so with regard to specific campaign priorities and their core target audience, the majority of whom they want to reach. The results achieved with the FOPH are good proof of the effectiveness of the campaigns: not only did they win an enormous number of creative awards, they also won several Effies.
Where and why did your agency deliberately want to provoke?
In most campaigns, we tried to achieve maximum prevention impact with a minimum of resources. In these cases, creativity is still the best means of attracting attention, encouraging people to think and, very importantly, to act.
Where do you set the limits of what is permitted?
Applicable law must not be violated. And we want to avoid hurting people's feelings whenever possible. We also have a code of ethics, which can be viewed on our website (havasworldwide.ch/werbeagentur-havas- ww-zuerich/ethik). A good example of how we have managed the balancing act between positive provocation and the limits of what is permissible are the shortest commercials "Gings zu schnell, um an Gummis zu denken? ". In these sequences, which only last two and a half seconds, couples are seen making love. There were very few negative reactions. Why? Because the commercials are so funny and well made and get the message across in an absolutely coherent way. There is a difference between using "sex sells" or naked skin to advertise a product in a sexist way and, as in this example, naked skin being part of the message and therefore the idea.
How open do you think the Swiss public is to provocative advertising ideas?
The Swiss have a hard time with irony. And black humor is left to the British, unfortunately. Otherwise, Switzerland is open enough as a location for innovation, for provocative and pointed advertising.
Which provocations were worthwhile and which were more likely to cause trouble?
There was no campaign that wasn't worthwhile. And there was little trouble. But there were campaigns that will be remembered for a long time and therefore a little more fondly: the campaign with the naked fencers, ice hockey players and motorcyclists with the statement "Here you protect yourself too". Or the campaign with the ultra-short commercials "Went too fast ..." Or the latest campaign, which not only includes AIDS, but also sexually transmitted diseases.
The chances of success of prevention can be discussed at length. What is the advertiser's opinion?
Advertising is information plus emotion. Successful prevention knows how to get unpleasant information across to men and women in an attractive way. Thanks to the FOPH campaign, knowledge of the safer sex rules has increased significantly. Condom use has also increased. With continuity and creativity, the FOPH has succeeded in reducing the number of AIDS cases to a very low level compared to other countries. There has been a clear change in behavior in society with regard to the use of condoms. The Check-your-Love-Life website has impressive ratings. If you put the campaign funds in relation to the costs of illnesses, you can quickly calculate how effective and efficient the FOPH campaign is.
What do you like about the current campaign?
Firstly, that the strategy developed in 2004 - to only use the claim "Love Life" - is now being applied. Secondly, that the campaign addresses sexually transmitted diseases in addition to AIDS prevention in general. Thirdly, the insight "how do I tell my partner in the event of infection". This is not an eyewash prevention campaign, but rather an expression of the fact that we know that in certain situations the condom may unfortunately not be used. The campaign is more than just information, it is assistance. Fourthly, I think the campaign is also quite successful in its implementation. In three years' time, it will hopefully produce a lot of useful, intelligent and good things.
Interview: Andreas Panzeri
Frank Bodin: We have been in charge of this mandate for eight years, so our share is around a third. From the very beginning, the Stop AIDS campaign has been characterized by popularity, wit and spirit. We are proud to be able to continue a good tradition to this day.
With which idea did your team achieve the greatest impact?
With a long-term strategic guiding principle, with which we laid the foundation in 2004: "Protect yourself and your partner for the love of life." In line with this, we evolved the existing, imperative claim "Stop Aids!" into the new brand "Love Life" in conjunction with a condom. The strategy was also the basis for the style: sexuality should be fun, and so should our prevention campaign. You can achieve more with joy, humor and charm than with finger-pointing, fear-mongering and death threats. We have also introduced a new cross-media approach in which online is the central medium.
Euro RSCG initiated "Love Life". Was it easy to sell this change of course to a very broad committee?
I remember the pitch in 2004 very well. We only entered the race with this one strategy and only with a campaign based on it because we were convinced of it. The FOPH shared this conviction. Even though there are various committees and even though this campaign can sometimes become a political issue, the decision-making processes at the FOPH are exemplary, lean and very well organized.
Has the idea now also been taken up by international campaigns?
Our ideas have also attracted international attention and are regarded as a benchmark for prevention campaigns. There have also been requests to take over campaigns, and one or two campaign elements have certainly inspired people abroad.
Preventive measures around the topic of sexual life also harbor taboo zones for some of the population. How did Havas Worldwide Zurich deal with this challenge?
On the one hand, the topic requires a great deal of sensitivity and the perception in the language regions of Switzerland is sometimes very different. On the other hand, we are forced to reach the Swiss population with little advertising money. Two things helped us in this balancing act. Firstly, our prosumer database, which allows us to gain valuable insights and test campaign ideas. Secondly, the fact that we are one of the very few agencies in Switzerland to have a strong branch in French-speaking Switzerland, Havas Worldwide Genève, and can therefore respond better to linguistic and cultural differences. A campaign that pleases everyone is not possible and should never be the goal. Those who position themselves do so with regard to specific campaign priorities and their core target audience, the majority of whom they want to reach. The results achieved with the FOPH are good proof of the effectiveness of the campaigns: not only did they win an enormous number of creative awards, they also won several Effies.
Where and why did your agency deliberately want to provoke?
In most campaigns, we tried to achieve maximum prevention impact with a minimum of resources. In these cases, creativity is still the best means of attracting attention, encouraging people to think and, very importantly, to act.
Where do you set the limits of what is permitted?
Applicable law must not be violated. And we want to avoid hurting people's feelings whenever possible. We also have a code of ethics, which can be viewed on our website (havasworldwide.ch/werbeagentur-havas- ww-zuerich/ethik). A good example of how we have managed the balancing act between positive provocation and the limits of what is permissible are the shortest commercials "Gings zu schnell, um an Gummis zu denken? ". In these sequences, which only last two and a half seconds, couples are seen making love. There were very few negative reactions. Why? Because the commercials are so funny and well made and get the message across in an absolutely coherent way. There is a difference between using "sex sells" or naked skin to advertise a product in a sexist way and, as in this example, naked skin being part of the message and therefore the idea.
How open do you think the Swiss public is to provocative advertising ideas?
The Swiss have a hard time with irony. And black humor is left to the British, unfortunately. Otherwise, Switzerland is open enough as a location for innovation, for provocative and pointed advertising.
Which provocations were worthwhile and which were more likely to cause trouble?
There was no campaign that wasn't worthwhile. And there was little trouble. But there were campaigns that will be remembered for a long time and therefore a little more fondly: the campaign with the naked fencers, ice hockey players and motorcyclists with the statement "Here you protect yourself too". Or the campaign with the ultra-short commercials "Went too fast ..." Or the latest campaign, which not only includes AIDS, but also sexually transmitted diseases.
The chances of success of prevention can be discussed at length. What is the advertiser's opinion?
Advertising is information plus emotion. Successful prevention knows how to get unpleasant information across to men and women in an attractive way. Thanks to the FOPH campaign, knowledge of the safer sex rules has increased significantly. Condom use has also increased. With continuity and creativity, the FOPH has succeeded in reducing the number of AIDS cases to a very low level compared to other countries. There has been a clear change in behavior in society with regard to the use of condoms. The Check-your-Love-Life website has impressive ratings. If you put the campaign funds in relation to the costs of illnesses, you can quickly calculate how effective and efficient the FOPH campaign is.
What do you like about the current campaign?
Firstly, that the strategy developed in 2004 - to only use the claim "Love Life" - is now being applied. Secondly, that the campaign addresses sexually transmitted diseases in addition to AIDS prevention in general. Thirdly, the insight "how do I tell my partner in the event of infection". This is not an eyewash prevention campaign, but rather an expression of the fact that we know that in certain situations the condom may unfortunately not be used. The campaign is more than just information, it is assistance. Fourthly, I think the campaign is also quite successful in its implementation. In three years' time, it will hopefully produce a lot of useful, intelligent and good things.
Interview: Andreas Panzeri
