The Brief:

 

Terrence Higgins Trust needed to evolve and super charge the next stage of their national HIV prevention campaign, It Starts With Me. The campaign spans across outdoor, print, social media, content and digital.

 

The Campaign:

 

At a time when advances in medicine mean that HIV is no longer something to be afraid of, new drugs mean that if you are taking medication with an undetectable viral load, you cannot pass it on. This means that for the first time we could stop the spread of HIV. This is big news that we wanted to share with two key communities who tend not to know the risks or hide from the facts. Individuals taking responsibility to get tested will make a massive difference.

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Creative:

 

The creative work presented HIV in a new, empowering tone. We recruited real people to become the heroes of the ‘It Starts With Me’ movement, real people who were willing to stand up, take responsibility and inspire action amongst their peers and communities. We told their personal stories through film portraits, powerful photography and crafted the campaign’s no-nonsense, but emotive copy style.

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Production:

 

The project involved 3 days filming (1 day per video), 4 days photography (5 models & 5 location per day). My responsibility was to manage all elements of production including the budget, locations sourcing, talents management, photographer, film crew sourcing & management, logistics, briefing, health & safety and post production/edit. Due to working with a charity, particular attention was given to maximise the amount of content created for the budget available, over a short period of time and often required negotiating venues/location for free.

 

Results:

 

And it is already making a difference. We have seen this year the biggest drop in new HIV cases ever. Some clinics have seen falls of up to 50% amongst gay men. Experts agree this is because of people taking control. More testing, people getting onto treatment quicker, and people protecting themselves from HIV by using PrEP and continuing to use condoms.