From Stop Aids to Love Life
Since 1987, the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) has been trying to spread the same message over and over again: Use condoms during sex. The book "Positiv" provides an insight into the balancing act that the office and advertising agencies have mastered to this day with their eye-catching, disruptive campaigns. Werbewoche spoke with Norina Schwender, who is responsible for the FOPH, about the campaigns.
The "Stop Aids" campaign, writes journalist and Republik co-founder Constantin Seibt in the foreword to the book "Positiv," is no small reason to be proud of this country. "It was a piece of courage. And then a piece of skill. It was brilliantly crafted." The Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) continues to show that courage today, he said. For example, the FOPH risks an outraged parliament wanting to cut the budget for all prevention campaigns in half, as it did in 2014, when the agency's Rod campaign featured photos of Swiss people having sex - for real. It is not uncommon for posters to be graffitied and defaced.
The small BAG team that awards the advertising contracts for the anti-Aids campaigns to agencies currently consists of Adrian Kammer and Norina Schwendener. The latter gives an insight into their work and the strategy behind the current and past anti-Aids campaigns, which have caused a stir from the start.
Notice: This article was already published in Werbewoche 6/2018 of March 23, 2018. Statements on the "current campaign" therefore do not refer to the on Monday launched by the FOPH campaign, but to the in february published campaign "Love Life - Do the Safer Sex Check", also by Rod Kommunikation.
Werbewoche: If you look back to the launch of the then "Stop Aids" campaigns in 1987, which campaigns have been the most successful so far?
Norina Schwendener: The first campaign produced "Stop Aids", probably the most influential slogan in the history of prevention, and with it established a key visual that everyone knows: the condom-O. Campaigns such as "ok", "Ohne Dings kein Bums" and the pictograms have prevented the spread of HIV among the Swiss population and dispelled prejudices. With the more recent campaigns under "Love Life", we were able to make HIV a social issue again and establish technological innovations, such as the safer sex check.
Sticky and graffitied posters, insults to the FOPH, an outraged parliament. Can you understand this kind of criticism, for example of the often sexualized subjects?
We are aware that not everyone likes the campaign equally. But we have to talk about sex if we want to prevent sexually transmitted infections. As long as it remains a taboo, prevention against HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases will be hindered.
Do you refrain from explicit sex scenes in the current* campaign because of the criticism?
We specifically sought an approach that would draw public attention to the Safer Sex Check and be compatible with the restrictions of the major social networks. We have to keep reinventing ourselves to get noticed and still stay in line with the Love Life strategy.
What are the initial reactions to the spots with the ambiguous tutorials?
The reactions on social networks are almost exclusively positive. The clips are shared very often, and users tag each other.
Do you currently consciously refrain from outdoor advertising?
The choice of advertising channels depends on many factors and is constantly being re-evaluated. In the current campaign, we are advertising the digital Safer Sex Check. It is obvious that we therefore choose a channel that leads the user to the check with one click.
How do you keep addressing the same theme ("protect yourselves") over and over again?
We try to keep an eye on current developments, for example in medicine or in society. From this, we can always derive new fields of action. The Safer Sex Check is one such example. It was made necessary by scientific findings and made possible by digital progress. Safer sex is no longer the same for everyone, and safer sex is changing for all of us. We can do justice to this with the Safer Sex Check. Prevention work must keep pace with social developments and also use technological aids to package the message "Protect yourself" in ever different ways. But last but not least, the creative staging decides whether people listen to us or not.
How has the FOPH's approach to the subject changed over the years and decades?
The credo of the campaign is transparent, open and direct communication. This approach has been valid since the beginning of the campaign and has not changed. Without moral coloring or even threatening with the finger, but in a fun, life-affirming way. The FOPH always speaks to the entire population and not to individual risk groups. In this way, we prevent prejudices from building up and people from being excluded.
What specifically do you want to achieve with the current and further awareness campaigns? What needs to be done better in terms of HIV prevention?
HIV has largely lost its horror due to medical progress. This actually pleasing fact has led to the topic of HIV losing importance among people. A recurring public discourse is needed so that the topic is and remains present in people's minds. In addition, adolescents and young adults become sexually active every year. They should learn and cultivate a responsible approach to their health right from the start. That's why we have to use the campaign again and again to show how people can protect themselves from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.
Interview: Ann-Kathrin Kübler
About the book:
Positive
Aids in Switzerland
Softcover, 144 pages, with illustrations.
SFr. 32.00, Euro 29.00
This book is about the worst: about a mysterious epidemic that brought certain death. And of the saddest: of the death and exclusion that HIV brings to this day. But also of the best: of people who acted. It tells of traveling doctors, gay activists, bold public officials and tricky advertisers. With their courageous campaign, they enlightened an entire country. Rarely have seven letters been as impactful as "Stop Aids" with the Parisian. It's a book about the coolest thing Switzerland has produced: its pragmatism.
Edited by Constantin Seibt. With contributions by Michèle Binswanger, Carlos Hanimann, Dominik Imseng, Nadine Jürgensen, Olivia Kühni, Barbara Reye, Alexander Seibt, Gabriel Vetter, Ursula von Arx.
