Kenneth Cole
launches AIDS public service campaign

Kenneth Cole, a renowned fashion designer and chairman of the American Foundation for AIDS Research, on Thursday launched a new international AIDS public awareness campaign called "We All Have AIDS," The New York Times reports. The campaign, launched in conjunction with Viacom and the Kaiser Family Foundation's "Know HIV/AIDS" initiative, carries the tagline, "We All Have AIDS...If One of Us Does."

Cole says he hopes the campaign will help minimize the stigma associated with HIV and remind people that everyone is at risk of infection. The campaign will include entertainers, politicians, and AIDS leaders, including former South African president Nelson Mandela, South African AIDS activist Zackie Achmat, South African archbishop Desmond Tutu, and celebrities Ashley Judd, Sharon Stone, Elizabeth Taylor, Tom Hanks, and others. It will include public service announcements in newspapers, magazines, radio, and billboards, with the goal of reaching more than 1 billion people during the next 30 days, Cole says.

Cole unveiled the campaign at a World AIDS Day event in New York City attended by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who pledged to step up HIV prevention, education, and care programs in the city.

For more information about the campaign, go online to www.weallhaveaids.com. (Advocate.com)