Homespun AHF Ad Campaigns Target HIV Stigma, STD Testing

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has launched two new national billboard and outdoor advertising campaigns promoting sexual health and wellbeing, including prevention, testing, and treatment for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs or STDs) as well as care—and pushing back against stigma—for those living with HIV.

The parallel, but visually different, campaigns each feature artwork with homespun feel coupled with a simple and straightforward message intended to both catch and challenge a viewer’s attention, but then bring them closer to the intended message. The two campaigns will appear in nearly three dozen cities and regions across the U.S. where AHF provides care and services and will run for the next three months.

The first campaign, “HIV Stigma Sucks,” is a reboot of an earlier and popular outdoor AHF campaign. The scratch-your-head homespun twist here: The artwork features the simple three-word tagline, HIV Stigma Sucks, rendered in the old-time style of an embroidered sampler that one might find hanging on a grandmother’s wall or gracing a pillow cover on her overstuffed davenport sofa. The artwork also features a red ribbon and drives to the URL, HIVcare.org, where individuals facing stigma and limited access to affirming healthcare can learn about and book an appointment with an AHF HIV specialist.

The other campaign, “Testing is Caring,” takes a more modern approach featuring contemporary photographs of upbeat, smiling same-sex male couples bookended by the tagline, “Testing is Caring.” Again, the simple artwork here drives to the URL freeSTDcheck.org. The homespun hook here is the artwork’s down-to-earth declaration that something as simple as routine medical testing can be, or is a demonstration of care for oneself and one’s partners.

The “Testing is Caring” outdoor advertisements started posting last week on billboards, bus interior cards, bus benches, posters, and transit shelters. The campaign will appear nationwide in 34 cities in 14 states, Washington, DC and Puerto Rico where AHF has clinics and Wellness Centers offering free STD testing and treatment, including in CALIFORNIA: Los Angeles, Oakland, San Diego & San Francisco; FLORIDA: Delray Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, Ft. Meyers, Hialeah, Jacksonville, Liberty City, Miami, Orlando, Pensacola, South Beach, St. Petersburg and West Palm Beach; GEORGIA: Atlanta; ILLINOIS: Chicago; LOUISIANA: Baton Rouge and New Orleans; MARYLAND, Baltimore; MISSISSIPPI: Jackson; NEW YORK: Bronx and Queens; NEVADA: Las Vegas; OHIO: Cleveland and Columbus; PENNSYLVANIA: Philadelphia; SOUTH CAROLINA: Columbia; TEXAS: Dallas, Houston, and Ft. Worth; and WASHINGTON: Seattle; WASHINGTON, DC and in PUERTO RICO. This campaign also appears in Spanish headlined, “la prueba es cariño," and drives to the URL pruebasdeITSgratuitas.org.

The “HIV Stigma Sucks” outdoor advertisements started posting last week on billboards, bus interior cards, bus benches, posters, and transit shelters. The campaign will appear nationwide in 34 cities in 14 states and Washington, DC where AHF has clinics and Wellness Centers offering free STD testing and treatment, including in CALIFORNIA: Los Angeles, Oakland, San Diego & San Francisco; FLORIDA: Delray Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, Ft. Meyers, Hialeah, Jacksonville, Liberty City, Miami, Orlando, Pensacola, South Beach, St. Petersburg and West Palm Beach; GEORGIA: Atlanta; ILLINOIS: Chicago; LOUISIANA: Baton Rouge and New Orleans; MARYLAND, Baltimore; MISSISSIPPI: Jackson; NEW YORK: Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens; NEVADA: Las Vegas; OHIO: Cleveland and Columbus; PENNSYLVANIA: Philadelphia; SOUTH CAROLINA: Columbia; TEXAS: Dallas, Houston, and Ft. Worth; and WASHINGTON: Seattle; and WASHINGTON, DC.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the world’s largest HIV/AIDS healthcare organization, provides cutting-edge medicine and advocacy to more than 2.4 million individuals across 48 countries, including the U.S. and in Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region, and Eastern Europe. In January 2025, AHF received the MLK, Jr. Social Justice Award, The King Center’s highest recognition for an organization leading work in the social justice arena. To learn more about AHF, visit us online at AIDShealth.org, find us on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.