A horrifying new European AIDS prevention campaign for World AIDS Day 2009 is making news this week:
The campaign, designed by the German firm das comitee, features posters of Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein, and Joseph Stalin engaging in unprotected sexual intercourse (see slideshow below) to emphasize the campaign's "AIDS Is A Mass Murderer" tagline. And wait, there's more: Click through to the AIDS-Is-A-Mass-Murderer.com website for an imagined Hitler sex tape. Damn if those Germans don't know how to scare up some condom usage.
The campaign was designed in advance of World AIDS Day 2009, held annually on December 1 since 1988. Today Telegraph.co.uk is reporting that mainstream European AIDS charities including U.K.'s National AIDS Trust are distancing themselves from and speaking out against the ads: Adolf Hitler sex video condemned by AIDS charities
More on the campaign via AIDS-Is-A-Mass-Murderer.com:
The "AIDS is a mass murderer" awareness campaign was designed by Regenbogen e.V. in conjunction with the advertising agency, "das comitee". Our campaign to mark World AIDS Day 2009 speaks in clear terms: the new slogan is "AIDS is a mass murderer". The few mass murderers who have claimed a similar number of human lives are shown: Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Robert Mugabe. The campaign is designed to shake people up, to bring the topic of AIDS back to centre stage, and to reverse the trend of unprotected sexual intercourse. Because anyone can become infected.
Over the past number of years, public interest in AIDS has massively declined. The number of victims, however, has not. As of now, over 30 million people worldwide have died. And every day, almost 6000 new deaths are added to that number. This makes AIDS one of the largest mass murderers of all time. In Germany alone, around 60,000 people are infected with HIV or AIDS. Nobody should be allowed to forget these numbers. As anyone who forgets can become a victim themselves.
The advertising agency "das comitee" is responsible for the "AIDS is a mass murderer" concept. The print images were photographed by Uwe Düttmann. The film was produced by "Doppelgänger-Film" and directed by Ivo Weigert. The music video was produced and realised by "das comitee" in conjunction with director Janette Wölwer from Berlin.
Regenbogen e.V. and the agency "das comitee" are running this campaign together to mark World AIDS Day 2009. Everyone working on the campaign is doing so on a voluntary basis.