HIV Awareness Campaign | Behaviour Change & Public Health Communications
Background
Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) is the UK's leading HIV and sexual health charity, working to end HIV transmissions, challenge stigma and support people living with HIV.
Nine years after the landmark scientific discovery that people living with HIV who are on effective treatment cannot pass it on through sex, THT wanted to relaunch its awareness campaign to bring this life-changing message to a wider audience.
The challenge was not just about sharing a fact. It was about changing perceptions, reducing stigma and helping more people understand the reality of HIV today.
The Challenge
The campaign needed to communicate one clear message:
Someone living with HIV cannot pass it on through sex if they are on effective treatment.
The challenge was making it immediately clear that the campaign was about sexual transmission, while ensuring the creative remained appropriate for high-impact channels including outdoor advertising, digital display and Meta platforms.
Launching initially in Brighton & Hove, the campaign needed to connect with key audiences, encourage sharing and create the foundations for a wider national rollout.
The Creative Strategy
The power of the campaign came from making a complex public health message simple.
We explored multiple creative routes designed to suggest intimacy and sex without becoming explicit or sensational. To ensure the strongest approach, we combined qualitative insight through focus groups with quantitative research from a wider audience survey.
The chosen creative direction showed couples in pre-intimacy moments, using relatable imagery designed to represent different audience groups. The message was stripped back into a short, memorable statement that could work across outdoor advertising, bus rears, digital channels and social media.
The campaign also played on the idea of "passing it on", turning a phrase historically associated with HIV anxiety into a positive call to action: pass on the facts, not outdated misconceptions.
The final campaign toolkit included outdoor advertising, bus advertising, digital display, social media assets, TV screens, email communications, web banners, print advertising and shareable content designed to extend reach beyond paid media.
Impact
The campaign successfully launched across Brighton & Hove, generating strong local media attention and helping bring a vital HIV awareness message back into public conversation.
By combining audience insight, clear messaging and inclusive creative, the campaign helped challenge outdated perceptions around HIV transmission while supporting Terrence Higgins Trust's wider mission to reduce stigma and improve understanding.