As rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) continue to skyrocket in the U.S.—with 50 percent of new infections being acquired by young people ages 15 to 24 years old—AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is rolling out of two new, parallel condom billboard and transit advertising campaigns promoting condom use as an effective means to combat record rates of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis being reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In August, CNN reported that rates of those three STDS “… have climbed for the fourth consecutive year in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Tuesday at the National STD Prevention Conference in Washington.”
Over the past weeks and in the lead up to International Condom Day (observed on February 13th) billboards and transit ads for AHF’s LOVE and ICON brand condoms have posted in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and several other markets.
The artwork for both versions of AHF’s condom ads features the text of the name of the particular brand—LOVE condom or ICON condom (in this case, in the word ‘ICONIC’)—set simply on a background resembling a swirled sheet. In each ad, the letter ‘O’ has been replaced with an image of a wrapped condom of the respective brand, with the imprint of the condom ring on the packaging suggesting the letter ‘O.’
AHF’s LOVE and ICON brand condom ads are, or will be appearing in the following markets and formats:
ALABAMA
- Mobile – Billboards (Bulletins)
CALIFORNIA
- Los Angeles – Billboards (Bulletins), Street Furniture (Bus Benches), Transit (2-Sheets and Interior Cards)
- Oakland – Billboard (Bulletin), Street Furniture (Bus Shelters)
- San Francisco – Street Furniture (Bus Shelters), Transit (2-Sheets)
DISTRICT of COLUMBIA
- Washington, DC – Street Furniture (Bus Shelters)
FLORIDA
- Broward (County) – Billboard (Bulletin)
- Ft. Lauderdale – Billboards (Bulletins)
- Homestead – Transit (Bus Wrap and Bus Interiors)
- Liberty City – Street Furniture (Bus Benches)
- Miami – Billboards (Bulletins), Street Furniture (Bus Benches, Bus Shelters) and Transit (Bus Interiors).
- South Beach (Miami) – Transit (Bus Wrap and Bus Interiors)
- Tampa, FL – Transit (Bus Shelters)
GEORGIA
- Atlanta, GA – Billboards (Bulletins and Posters) and Street Furniture (Kiosks)
ILLINOIS
- Chicago, IL – Billboards (Bulletins and Posters) and Transit (2-Sheets)
NEW YORK
- Brooklyn, NY – Transit (2-Sheets)
- Queens, NY – Street Furniture (Bus Shelters) and Transit (Bus Tails and 2-Sheets)
NEVADA
- Las Vegas, NV – Street Furniture (Bus Shelters), Transit (Bus King Kongs)
OHIO
- Cleveland, OH – Billboards (Bulletins and Posters) and Transit (Interior Cards)
- Columbus, OH – Billboards (Bulletins and Posters) and Street Furniture (Kiosks)
TEXAS
- Dallas, TX – Billboards (Bulletins), Street Furniture (Kiosks), Transit (Bus Interiors)
- Houston, TX– Billboards (Bulletins)
WASHINGTON (State)
- Seattle – Billboards (Posters and Trivision Posters)
“AHF has been promoting sexual health and STD screening through its innovative public awareness and billboard campaigns for the past several years in response to the skyrocketing rates of STDs nationwide, particularly among young people and men-who-have-sex-with-men,” said Michael Weinstein, President of AHF. “With rates of STDs continuing to soar, and the increasing recognition of the shortcomings of biomedical interventions like PrEP—which prevents HIV acquisition, but has not really caught on with the public, as evidenced by Gilead’s latest report of only 167,000 people on the prevention protocol—AHF is leading the public back to basics by reminding people that condoms are an effective, inexpensive—and often free—prevention tool.”
In June 2018, it launched a “Gonorrhea Alert” billboard campaign, a nationwide effort to educate about a drug-resistant strain of the STD. The “Gonorrhea Alert” billboard campaign is a follow up and parallels AHF’s syphilis prevention and treatment billboard campaigns that have included “Syphilis is Serious” billboards which launched earlier this year and the “Syphilis Explosion” outdoor advertising campaign which first starting running in 2014. That campaign was followed by AHF’s “Syphilis Tsunami” campaign which ran in Los Angeles in 2016.
To find locations for free STD/HIV screening, visit www.freestdcheck.org
