Viacom to launch second year of HIV campaign during Super Bowl (10957)

Viacom and the Kaiser Family Foundation will launch the second year of their successful "Know HIV/AIDS" awareness campaign with a public service announcement that will air during pregame coverage of the Super Bowl on February 1. The 2004 campaign will include $200 million worth of on-air time on Viacom's television and radio networks, including CBS, UPN, Showtime, MTV, VH1, BET, and many others. AIDS awareness and prevention messages will target groups most at risk for infection, including people under age 25, monitors, women, and gay men. The campaign in 2003, its inaugural year, included 49 television, radio, and outdoor ads. The 2004 campaign will include 40 ads.

The pre-Super Bowl ad shows young people coming out of a trash bin with a voice saying that 20 million young people are expected to contract HIV, but "it doesn't have to be like that. HIV is preventable." The ad directs viewers to the campaign's Web site at www.knowhivaids.org, which has had 6.5 million visitors in the past year. The campaign also includes a toll-free hotline, at (866) 344-5669, which recorded more than 330,000 calls in 2003.