NEW ZEALAND AIDS FOUNDATION | Sperm Positive | 2020
This Is an Ad for a Sperm Bank / NEW ZEALAND AIDS FOUNDATION "Sperm Positive"
A sperm bank for HIV-positive men. What comes to mind when you hear that? On 11/27/2019, just before World AIDS Day, it actually existed in New Zealand.
The problem
If treated, HIV cannot be transmitted—not even through childbirth. U=U: undetectable equals untransmittable. This fact had been known since 2016, but public awareness had been left far behind.
The insight
Lining up numbers convinces no one. So why not offer the most concrete proof there is? Make the act of bringing a life into the world itself the proof. DDB New Zealand called this "a public health message ten years overdue."
The idea
Three organizations, including NZAF, teamed up to launch an actual, functioning sperm bank. The donors were three HIV-positive men, all with undetectable viral loads. "They can give a child their eyes, their hair, their goofy laugh. But they can't give them HIV." One of the donors had once been bullied at work after disclosing his condition, and had quit his job because of it.
What happened
The campaign drew more than 230 pieces of international media coverage across over 25 countries, including CNN and BBC. Then, 5 minutes past 2 in the afternoon on January 27, 2021, a baby girl was born. The campaign also won Grand Prix awards at Cannes Lions and Spikes Asia. Since then, other fertility clinics have also begun accepting HIV-positive donors.
Afterthought
I feel like I just witnessed the moment an ad changed the world. There's no proof stronger than bringing a life into being. That birth isn't just a result on some report anymore—it's the start of a life. I want to be someone who gets to work on things like this.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Gold 2020
