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A contraversial ad to spread AIDS awareness to the people of Germany has hit the web and has had organizations questioning if this ad has gone too far. I think y'all should judge for yourself but viewer's discretion advised. German television is a lot more lax than American TV.
Now, here's what's happening for those who don't want to watch the video. The ads show a woman having "close encounters" (sex) with several historical, tyranical dictators such as Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. The dictators are symbols of how HIV and AIDS are mass murderers and that they must be stopped from taking more lives.
The message is great and we can all get behind it but it's the execution that's the problem. Hitler is a symbol for AIDS but by having him have sex with a woman and spread the AIDS virus you can also be saying that the HIV-positive people and the people who spread the virus are the mass murderers. Clearly not the intent but it is logical to assert that that message can be portrayed in these ads.
Another problem that AIDS victims' advocates have is that the ads don't provide enough information on how to prevent AIDS. A nice ending, maybe like, "Wear a condom," would have been nice. Bringing concern that even if the ads are effective in grabbing people's attention to the AIDS epidemic, they are not providing people a call to action.
Telegraph.co.uk:
"On top of this it fails to provide any kind of actual prevention message (e.g. use a condom) and may deter people to come forward for testing. "The advert is also inaccurate because in the UK thanks to treatment HIV is a manageable condition that does not necessary lead to AIDS."
But, in the defense of http://aids-is-a-mass-murderer.com/, the website is okay, scary and well-done, and the ad said, "Protect yourself," but it didn't say, "With a condom." Just saying.
The Young Turks, political commentators Cenk Uyger and Ana Kasparian, although at times a little questionable about their commentary, give a great overview of the story and some shocking facts on the AIDS crisis in Germany towards the end at 3:30.
And don't forget, everyone, Worlds AIDS Day is December 1st!
Wear a condom!
vanessaaishacoleman
| 9/9/09 01:33 PM
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