Australia’s reputation as a proactive, world leader in the AIDS field took a significant blow in 1987 when the powers-that-be decided to run with the so-called Grim Reaper campaign.

The clip at the end of this post clearly illustrates some of the problems with the overall style of the campaign – the use of fear and serious misinformation being but two of them.

Subsequent evaluations of the campaign revealed that the problems weren’t just ‘stylistic’ – they caused serious problems for people with, or at risk of, HIV/AIDS.

The first problem was that it was developed by an advertising agency rather than AIDS educators. In consequence it was attention-grabbing but completely counter-productive in communicating information about AIDS.

It gave a huge career boost to its creator – a young advertising whizz-kid by the name of Siimon Reynolds (the extra ‘i’ in Siimon was added for numerological purposes – I kid you not). For years afterwards people in advertising hung on his every utterance and – unbelievably – the campaign won an international advertising award.

But in terms of raising awareness about the realities of AIDS it was a dismal and dangerous failure.

As is patently obvious from the clip below, it suggested that AIDS was a risk to everyone and, even more disturbingly, that there was nothing that could be done about it. It was – and remains – a very distressing advert. Schoolchildren, babes in arms and adults of all backgrounds are simply and helplessly mown down by the relentless progression of AIDS.

If you want to engender a sense of denial in any population, make sure that you:

a) Scare the crap out of them then

b) Tell them there’s nothing they can do about it

In fact people didn’t go into denial in the early stages of the campaign – apart from those who were genuinely at risk. AIDS treatment and advice centres reported a drop in contacts with homosexually-active men and an overwhelming demand for HIV testing from people who were at no risk whatsoever.The latter group didn’t want information about safer sex and other preventative measures; they simply wanted to be tested to allay their guilt about past ‘indiscretions’.

Treatment and advice services weren’t helped by the fact that details of the campaign had only been released to them at the last moment. This, apparently, was down to some deluded logic that the impact of the initial screenings would be enhanced by keeping everyone in the dark. In consequence, these services were completely unprepared to respond to the volume and nature of the calls they received.

As well as being traumatised by the ads, gay men and people living with HIV/AIDS also experienced increased levels of discrimination and abuse. The NSW Anti-Discrimination Board reported an increase in workplace discrimination and harassment of people with, or perceived to be at risk of, AIDS. Treatment services reported an increased sense of social isolation amongst their patients.

I was a Social Worker in Australia’s largest in-patient AIDS Unit at the time this ad was screened. It’s impossible to describe the effect it had on the guys when it popped up on their TV screens. To say that it lowered everyone’s spirits – patients and staff alike – would be an understatement. It filled everyone with an overwhelming negativity and we struggled to shake it off after each appearance.

And it screened several times a day – on every TV channel – so there was no getting away from it.

It was a dismal campaign, which the Health Department struggled to justify whilst simultaneously trying to bury it as quickly and quietly as they could. Not one of the Australian Government’s finest moments – but at least it boosted the career of that nice (and numerologically astute) Siimon Reynolds!

Warning: Some people may find the following video distressing. I know I still do.