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MN AIDS Walk gets a troubling face-liftposted by cursenbless on Nov. 12, '09 at 12:09 AM |
posted by cursenbless on Nov. 12, '09 at 12:09 AM
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The MN AIDS Project is unveiling a new marketing/photographic campaign this December 1st for World AIDS Day that is sleek, sexy, artful (it's black and white, after all, much in the vein of iconic photographer Herb Ritts who, consequently, died of AIDS in 2002)... and utterly frustrating for a young gay man in the Twin Cities such as myself. The campaign features nearly naked 20-somethings (who I assume are HIV-?) with impossibly perfect physiques waxing stony-faced (on the set of a real-life modelling shoot!) as to why AIDS awareness and the MN AIDS Walk is so important to them as team leaders. These barely legal pied pipers are, I'm guessing, supposed to encourage the public to join the team and join the fight against AIDS and raise money for the (truly) important work that the MN AIDS Project does. Case in point: Click HERE to sneak preview the campaign's other videos. Does the continued hypersexualization of young and healthy gay men in the name of AIDS awareness make any meaningful contributions to the discourse on the current state of affairs vis-a-vis HIV/AIDS in Minnesota? The topic has been woefully out of the public spotlight these past few years so why not sex it up a bit, some might argue. The old girl could use a fresh coat of paint and everybody likes naked sensitive dudes so what does it hurt? That's good old-fashioned Marketing 101, right? Sex sells? (Remember that your faithful correspondent here is from Los Angeles and grew up amidst the perfectly plasticine) Sex does sell but it also tends to tweak the message; it blurs it at best and cheapens it at worst. The MN AIDS Project has decided that their best tactic on World AIDS Day this year is to perpetuate the stereotypes (body image, superficiality, vapidity) that only further marginalize our community and pander to the absolute lowest common denominator. This is the cheapest possible LGBT marketing tactic. But then again, they don't need to reach me... I'm already a lifelong supporter of AIDS activism, research and support programs. I'm already a captive audience member to the messaging of the MN AIDS Project (or, more aptly, AIDS Project Los Angeles and Lifelong AIDS Alliance in Seattle where I moved here from). I suppose I really shouldn't find myself being surprised by this particular latest foray into the "sexing up" of AIDS awareness. In case you weren't aware, AIDS awareness has evolved these past few years in a manner I've found fairly alarming. Thanks to large pharmaceutical concerns that push cocktail drugs that elongate the lives of those stricken with HIV and AIDS, it's no longer simply a disease, it's a lifestyle for young, virile and well-built men and women who enjoy life! AIDS has recently been more about playing volleyball and traipsing through daisy fields with puppies (while forking over more than $2,300 a month for your medication*). As of 2007, 1.2 million North Americans are living with AIDS.** Thankfully (and I mean that wholeheartedly), they're living longer lives with fewer complications and without much of the stigma that used to accompany a diagnosis. (Bear in mind, however, that said pharma companies now have patients/debtors for life and perhaps aren't doing as much as they should to still find a cure) Regretfully, the other 30.9 million people worldwide aren't so lucky... with or without a public option. However, some might argue that they're almost living invisibly. Is this what AIDS looks like and is this what AIDS awareness campaigns SHOULD look like? I have personal experience with the ravages of this horrible disease and have watched healthy and beautiful men and women friends of mine wither and die from AIDS... but I haven't seen that story being told in a very long time. Does advertising like this recent campaign from MN AIDS Project tell you anything about the 23,000 North Americans and 2.2 million globally who died in 2007 from AIDS? Does advertising like this recent campaign from MN AIDS Project tell you anything about the 54,000 NEW infections of HIV in North America? Does this campaign (and others like it) constitute a whitewashing of what continues to be a GLOBAL EPIDEMIC? Does this, effectively, contribute to the ballooning ignorance among young gay men as to the real dangers of this disease? What part does this play vis-a-vis the rampant rise in bareback sex? Pre-1999 AIDS awareness campaigns were raw, in-your-face and downright activist. The past 10 years have shown that message evolve into the sex-positive sloganeering and unnecessarily provocative/suggestive media we are surrounded with today.*** How many leukemia campaigns have you seen recently that feature hot shirtless guys? Muscular dystrophy? Jerry's kids have NOTHING on these studs. Long story short (too late, I know)... AIDS kills. It continues to kill and decimate an increasingly apathetic community of young men and women (not only GLBT, mind you). It is for this reason we must do our utmost to once again raise awareness and actively seek a cure for this global epidemic. For this reason, I commend the MN AIDS Project in bumping up their game with this well-produced and flashy campaign. If it results in increased donations for 2010, then I will even applaud the campaign. I must protest, however, that the message here appears to have been given the kind of face-lift that risks trivializing one of the defining epidemics of our generation. Personally, the campaign leaves me cold and longing for some good old-fashioned truth in advertising (especially when people continue to die). I guess I won't hold my breath. What do the rest of you think? * Source: Test Positive Aware Network; "Annual HIV Drug Guide"; 2006. ** Source: UNAIDS/WHO 2008 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic *** Source: Pink News UK, August 14, 2009 |
posted by alexism on Nov. 12, '09 at 2:46 PM
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I agree on all of your points. In fact, I mentioned AIDS in a recent column and one of my gay male friends commented that it's rare to see it mentioned in current media. You have to wonder, how can that be? Let's not forget that AIDS is one of few things to be classified as a worldwide pandemic, meaning that it continues to spread on all continents at a rate that was not anticipated and still cannot be accurately calculated by scientists. And that, yes, it absolutely kills people. I've lost one friend to AIDS and, as Christian mentioned, it's a horrible, horrible thing to watch. Is this current campaign trying to show me the face of the disease? I don't think so. It does seem like they're sexing it up to appeal to a broader range of people, but so many of my gay friends are already quite active in the fight against AIDS. Are they trying to get more non-gays involved? I liked the old AIDS ads from the 80s and 90s. They were fucking terrifying and effective. I don't think this ad campaign is intentionally glamorizing AIDS but I agree that it's playing to the aesthetic culture of the hip gay community, perhaps trying to draw in more support from the younger gay generation. Which they probably wouldn't have to work so hard to do if AIDS had been more on the grid the last decade. Which is probably no accident. I blame the big pharmaceutical companies for pretty much every health issue in the world today. They're pure evil. |
posted by cursenbless on Nov. 12, '09 at 6:29 PM
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You have gay male friends? If they're trying to get more non-gays involved, that's a fair and admirable goal. However, in doing so in such a fashion, they're perpetuating the stereotype of shirtless gay party boys living life with an unfortunate and increasingly inconsequential problem... which happens to be AIDS and which happens to be continually decimating our population and terrorizing our existence. This isn't "Toys for Tots" or, more aptly, "Shekels for Shirtless Studs." It deserves slightly more gravity and dammit, aren't we BETTER than this at this point? |
posted by cursenbless on Nov. 13, '09 at 12:13 AM
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Some more commentary from Carl over at Cake in 15. |
posted by DavidFolkens on Nov. 13, '09 at 3:12 PM
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Christian, You raise a number of valid questions in regards to why, as an organization, we were looking to push out a campaign like this one that is absolutely designed to make people stop and take notice. There isn?t any doubt that we felt like this approach would play on a visual element of attractive men to attract attention to a critical issue in our state, and in particular within the gay community. The facts are that the number of young gay men infected in the Twin Cities is on pace to double last year's rate. It is clear that prevention education needs more attention and, frankly, this audience of young gay men needs to stop and find out more about the disease and their risk. We?re working to reach a generation that didn?t live through the 1980?s and 90?s when there were too many funerals and too many people gone before they even knew why. There is an aura of invincibility that comes with youth and that, combined with better treatments for those that can access them, have shifted many to believe that HIV is not a serious threat. The Minnesota AIDS Project has been here for more than 25 years and we see daily the impact that HIV has on our community. At best, HIV is a life-altering diagnosis that will change your life forever. At worst, it is deadly. That hasn?t changed as we approach three decades of this epidemic. There is no magic bullet to prevention and we believe different messages resonate with different people. We can, and do, discuss some of the very real challenges that people with HIV face in our work. We also profile success stories of some who are indeed doing well in managing their lives and remaining in good health despite the virus. Because of the nature of HIV, we will raise the issue of sex, sexuality, and hopefully communications around sex because it is critical in getting HIV out into the open and removing stigma around this disease. The fact that this discussion is taking place means that people are at least thinking about HIV?and that?s a good thing. We are also launching a more mainstream campaign on World AIDS Day at the Mall of America. This campaign, which you can see on www.mnaidswalk.org beginning December 1, features a diverse mix of ages, races, genders, body types, and sexual orientations. We hope that everyone will see that they have a place in HIV prevention and awareness as well as a place at the MN AIDS Walk, now in its 23rd year. I appreciate your comments, concerns, and constructive criticism. All of these are good discussions to engage in to collectively meet the needs of a wide variety of communities that all have to understand that HIV remains a very real part of our world. -Dave Folkens Director of communications Minnesota AIDS Project |
posted by cursenbless on Nov. 13, '09 at 3:23 PM
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It would appear that my rant has been picked up by international LGBT blog/commentary site, Queerty. Join the conversation here |
posted by bencyr on Nov. 13, '09 at 8:30 PM
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I worked in the medical industry in the mid-eighties. I worked for the company that developed the test to detect the AIDES virus. I was responsible for developing the electronics behind the revolutionary instrument that is able to detect the AIDS antigen in human blood. My uncle had Leukemia and was given blood Platelets in the early eighties. His Leukemia was in total remission by 1986. On Thanksgiving Day of 1988 my uncle died of AIDES. The blood Platelets he received were screened before we had good instrumentation to detect AIDES. We now have the ability to detect this horrendous disease, but have a long way to go in eradicating it. I commend those who continue the fight. No human deserves to go through the torment this disease brings. |
posted by bencyr on Nov. 13, '09 at 9:24 PM
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Sorry for the spelling errors ... |
posted by rade0091 on Nov. 14, '09 at 10:29 AM
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As someone who has worked in marketing and attended workshops on the use of youtube and facebook and other forms of social media, I understand the particular demographic this particular section of the campaign is trying to reach, and that I fall within it. It tends to be true that most under25ers read fewer newspapers and spend more time online. The statement, however, that this snipit is only a portion of the campaign as an attempt to justify this particular spectacularizaiton of young gay men, begs the question: What does MAP really think of the under 25ers? It appears from David's statement that this sexed-up version was the best way to get "our" attention. How trivial. How insulting. This campaign is becoming more and more problematic. |
posted by cursenbless on Nov. 14, '09 at 1:23 PM
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I personally look forward to the full-blown campaign which, I'm confident, features the L, B and T communities. When do the sexy women videos come out? |
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