Insensitive AIDS Commercial ?

Insensitive AIDS commercial Criticized. A new TV commercial due to start broadcasting on German TV next week has be slammed by leading HIV & AIDS charities as ‘Insensitive’ and ‘stigmatize people living with the condition The rather graphic ad features a very good look-a-like of Adolf Hitler having sex with a woman with the strap line of “AIDS’s is a mass murderer” The champagne will also feature posters of Joseph Starlin and Saddam Hussein having sex with naked women and created by German media company Das Comitee.

“We asked ourselves what face we could give to the virus, and it couldn't be a pretty face!” said Dick Silz from the agency, that’s created ads for the likes of Honda and BMW “"The campaign is designed to shake people up, to bring the topic of Aids back to centre stage, and to reverse the trend of unprotected sexual intercourse." In Germany alone, around 60,000 people are infected with HIV or AIDS In North America it’s estimated to be 1.3million people and as of now, over 30 million people worldwide have died and almost 6000 new deaths are added to that number every single day, making AIDS one of the largest mass murderers of all time.

But the steamy TV ads, being shown in the run put to World Aids Day in December has been strongly criticized by leading UK HIV charity The Terrence Higgins Trust - "One in four people in the UK with HIV doesn't know he or she has it, so anything that could increase stigmatization and discourage them from coming forward to be tested isn't helpful. Commented the Trusts policy officer on the BBC news website, adding "The dangerous thing about it [the advert] is there doesn't appear to be any accompanying public health message as far as encouraging people to stay safe and use condoms. "Also, treatment in Europe these days means it's very possible for people with HIV to live a healthy lifespan."

To see the campaign http://www.aids-is-a-mass-murderer.com/ Jason Shaw