BANGKOK Lowe Bangkok has joined forces with some of the world's most highly-awarded creative agencies in the ongoing fight against Aids.
A series of 24 commercials, created by past Cannes winners, will debut on MTV channels globally this week to mark World Aids Day (1 December).
The project, called 'Turn on TV' is part of a new campaign by the United Nations'Global Media Aids Initiative to tackle the three biggest problems associated with the disease: unsafe sex, discrimination against sufferers and infidelity.
Lowe Bangkok's contribution focused on how Aids is commonly spread in Asia - the commercial sex trade. The spot follows a woman through a series of sexual encounters with other women. In the final frame, she morphs into a man. The endline reads: 'Having unprotected sex is like making your partner sleep with everyone you have.'
"Women in Asia - mostly housewives - are becoming infected by their husbands who come home to them after sleeping with prostitutes,"said Abhijeet Dutta Ray, strategic planning director of Lowe Bangkok.
"Our spot is about prevention, but we were mindful to avoid the usual moralising approach. Aids has been around for 25 years, so we needed to talk about it in a more provocative way."
Other executions were created by 180 Amsterdam, Cake, Ogilvy, Wieden & Kennedy and Y&R in different regions around the world - to give a local spin on the broad-reaching affects of Aids. Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP, which is supporting the initiative, said: "These agencies show what they can do when they put their creative talents together."
The spots will be available rights- and cost-free to broadcasters and content distributors to reach an estimated 1.4 billion people.
The campaign will air from December through to early next year. Globally, 40 million people are infected with HIV, with 4.3 million new infections this year.
