Is this what we were fighting for?
In Chicago, health care advocates and people with common sense people are outraged over the Illinois Department of Public Health’s bizarre ad campaign targeting gay men called “He’s the One.” And no, it’s not “He’s the one,” as in “Ooh la la, he’s Prince Charming,” it’s “He’s the one, that will infect you.”
The ridiculous tag line and the spooky montage of men’s faces cobbled together like a Franken Gay monster in the ad are provoking ridicule and angry responses. What was the ad campaign supposed to accomplish, and why did it even run in the first place, in a gay newspaper of all places?
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2 Comments
Comments
Scary!
Karen Carpenter worked herself into a grave if you call binging and purging work! Okay!
FAUSTO! How can you dare say Sean Hayes is not a good actor! It take more than just being a fair actor to be on BROADWAY! Yes, sometimes the draw of some shows on Broadway are the known celebrities it casts in their shows…however, let’s not forget that most TV/FILM actors typically come from the stage. You should see his work playing the role of Jerry Lewis; that’s great acting!
I don’t know Tony… Sean Hayes may be handsome, charming and a decent actor, but he’s no Ian McKellen or Neil Patrick Harris.
You’ve missed the whole point of the Hesthe1 campaign. Years of tip-toeing around the issue of STDs has not reduced the rates of infections. Your hysterical angry mob reaction is a sign that Hesthe1 is doing something right.
You’ve missed the point- there is no more “Hesthe1″ campaign. It’s been scrapped because it’s totally off the mark.
Read more here.
It angered people because it went against convention, not because it was off-the-mark.
“Lube Up, Russkies!”
@Brett- If we are hysterical, it’s in response to the advertisement that endorsed hysteria. Read “The Crucible” and get back to me.
I appreciate that your show / site encourages discussion. I can see how it might be interpreted as fear-mongering and stigmatization, but it’s not reasonable to compare this with witch trials, the scarlet letter, public shamings, and things like that. This ‘he’s the one who could infect you’ p.s.a. was all about jarring us out of our complacency since we’re so accustomed to being spoken to in a certain softened, politically-correct manner regarding the issue of HIV. People want to pretend like it isn’t an issue, but there is a difference between people who have HIV and people who don’t have HIV. It’s not stigmatizing for HIV-negative people to be like, “Hey HIV-positive people, I’m not going to have unsafe sex with you and let you infect me.” AIDS is a disease that’s so much worse than anyone wants to admit, so I was glad to see this ad that’s sort of confrontational, that isn’t concerned whose feelings get hurt, that doesn’t pretend like getting infected is somehow inconsequential, that’s about raising the issue and putting it in your face.
That’s all I have to say about it. I enjoyed the interview with Peaches Christ and I love Christeene.
Thanks for the words of praise Brent!
Most people think the ad campaign is ridiculous. I don’t think it accomplishes anything. Plus it makes the Illinois Dept of Health look like morons.
It’s also an assumption that gay men are somehow complacent, or jaded. Where’s that coming from? Obviously there is a strong, passionate discussion happening here. But it may not be enough. I don’t think that scaring people will accomplish anything, but that ad is as scary as a bad 1950s monster movie. It’s a joke.
What’s no laughing manner is that we’re still faced with HIV infections and the lack of health care reform happening right now. We have no public option. To become HIV+ may not be a death sentence, but its certainly a financial and health burden.
Maybe the nice thing about all this controversy is that its creating a space for people to talk about the ways they would like to hear a discussion on the topic, and hopefully starting at that point will get real awareness and get a real reduction in HIV transmission rates.
Thanks to the bloggers who are making this conversation happen. It’s not happening anywhere else. Can we get a cut of the money?
When me and my friends saw He’s the one, ad, we looked at ourselves and laughed. God help you if anyone relies on the stupid people who made that ad for anything.
let’s start from the assumption that smoking = barebacking. Everyone knows smoking causes cancer, everyone knows barebacking is high risk for HIV transmission, yet people still do both. what reduces smoking rates? not more educational campaigns, but high taxes. what we need to figure out is the high tax equivalent that has an immediate impact transmissions. i don’t think it exists. i know my assumption is simplistic and naive, but i think about the efficacy of educational campaigns every time i see someone smoke.