The campaign features a video with the slogan “Give Death a Rest!”
Inan effort to help deal with the spread of HIV/ AIDS in Ukraine, some members of the advertising community have embarked upon a new and provocative public advertising campaign, despite the lack of assistance from the government.
The new awareness campaign began on May 2 and united the efforts of several Ukrainian agencies that claim their social advertising project is the first to be initiated and financed solely by local advertisers.
HIV/AIDS experts have praised the initiative, saying the advertisers’ attempt is an important step in addressing HIV/AIDS awareness. The initiative is also seen as a contribution toward developing the sphere of social advertising in general in Ukraine, where the practice is still in its infancy.
The campaign features a video with the slogan “Give Death a Rest!” It is being organized and funded by the Kyiv-based JWT group that includes three advertising agencies: Ravy/JWT, Tabasco/JWT and JWT Ukraine. The agencies are cooperating with the Lime Lite Production Studio in the campaign.
Organizers say the project marks a first for the Ukrainian advertising industry, as it is the first campaign that is not commissioned by a client.
According to project initiator and JWT Group Head Olga Lanovik, the idea first appeared upon hearing HIV/AIDS statistics released by the Ukrainian Center for AIDS. The data showed that 2,420 Ukrainians died of HIV/AIDS in 2006, raising the average to about six deaths per day. The two major causes of HIV/AIDS infection in Ukraine are intravenous drug use (more than 56 percent of all cases) and unprotected sexual contacts (nearly 28 percent).
The center forecasts that in several years this figure may be as high as 140 deaths every day.
“What we created was not born out of briefings or official meetings, but as a result of face-to-face talks with advertising colleagues and at-risk groups,” Lanovik said.
Lanovik called the resulting video “provocative,” but said that it’s the only way the ad will be effective.
“The video features the image of Death, who is tired of taking peoples’ lives, and asks to be left alone,” Lanovik explained. The video is slated to air in July.
Organizers couldn’t provide exact budget expenditures for the project because most of the work was pro bono.
Ruslan Leonenko, the PR and Event manager of Tabasco/JWT, said that the director, cameraman, and creative team worked on the project for free, while the agencies and the production studio donated their resources and materials. Organizers said that the end product would have been considered “high budget” if it was produced on a commercial basis.
“Our goal here was not only to draw attention to the HIV/AIDS problem, which is obviously of the utmost importance, but also to attract attention to social advertising in general – there has to be more,” explained the head of Lime Lite Studio Anna Sunden.
Information deficit
UNAIDS Country Coordinator Anna Shakarishvili referred to the situation in Ukraine as “deplorable.” She said that since HIV/AIDS first appeared in Ukraine in the mid-90s, it has reached epidemic proportions. In terms of the spread of HIV/AIDS, Ukraine is unhappily ranked number one in Europe.
According to UNAIDS statistics, an estimated 1.4 percent of Ukrainians were living with HIV in 2004 compared to 0.3 percent in the United Kingdom, 0.4 percent in France, 0.1 percent in Poland and even 1.1 percent in the Russian Federation.
“Over the last 10 years, we have observed infection rates that have grown by 16.8 percent,” Shakarishvili said. She blamed the high infection rate largely on the lack of awareness among the public.
“In this respect we are in desperate need of social ads that are prominent and reach out to the public.”
Shakarishvili added that there is currently very little information reaching the public and that most of it is being disseminated unprofessionally.
“In Ukraine, the info available to the public is absolutely horrendous, and says nothing about how to cope with or prevent HIV/AIDS,” she said.
Shakarishvili believes that social advertising should be the responsibility of the mass media and the government, while the commercial sector should only support the process.
Meanwhile, other initiatives in Ukraine are primarily undertaken by non-profit organizations, like the AntiAIDS Foundation run by Olena Franchuk. She is the daughter of former President Leonid Kuchma and the wife of Ukrainian tycoon and philanthropist Viktor Pinchuk.
Franchuk’s organization has been conducting awareness projects for a number of years. Most recently, her foundation invited renowned performer Elton John to Kyiv, where he helped fundraise and promote HIV/AIDS awareness with a free concert on the central square of the capital city on June 16.
Raising awareness through social ads
Members of the advertising community think that social ads should be used more in Ukraine. They are calling on the government to introduce policies and tax breaks that would stimulate the industry.
The first professional social advertising campaign was launched in Ukraine two years ago by the Association of Street Advertising of Ukraine (ASAU). The 2005 social campaign “Let’s Make Love” took aim at the country’s population crisis by pointing out that the country needs more famous personalities, like cosmonauts and world-class athletes.
The project for placing 500 billboards around Kyiv cost $180,000 and was financed by ASAU.
“Of course our goal wasn’t to force people to make love immediately – it was supposed to be ironic to some extent – we just wanted to bring attention to the demographic crisis. We achieved that,” said ASAU Head Artem Bidenko.
Last year, ASAU organized a similar anti-drug campaign. This year the association is launching a campaign for promoting tolerance in society. The 300- billboard project is expected to be ready for the end of the summer season.
“In general, similar projects cost about $300,000 with about $250,000 going toward ad placement,” Bidenko said. “City authorities often give space for free, as they did for our anti-drug campaign, which cost only $8,000,” he added.
Bidenko said that Ukraine lacks a national policy for social advertising. He said that financing should be left up to the market while organizing the process should be the state’s responsibility.
“In Great Britain social advertisers’ number one client is the government. We need a single body to implement social ad policies. In addition, the government should reimburse up to 50 percent of the costs paid by commercial and social organizations that initiate such programs to increase their motivation,” Bidenko said.
Maxim Lazebnik, the chief executive of the All-Ukrainian Advertising Coalition, believes that all advertising in general should include a social element.
Lazebnik said that commercials with social messages have become more fashionable in Ukraine in the last two years. One example is beer producer Sun Interbrew’s “Don’t drink and drive” ads, which were considered to be very effective by the public.
“The state doesn’t realize that social advertising is another instrument that can help solve the country’s social problems. Money isn’t the major problem. What’s needed is a state strategy, and for commercial companies to take the initiative so far taken by the ad agencies operating in Kyiv,” Lazebnik explained.
