Public Education Partnerships: MTVU - Kaiser Family Foundation

About the Campaign

On April 30th, 2008 mtvU, MTV Networks' Peabody and Emmy Award-winning college network, and the Kaiser Family Foundation, in partnership with POZ Magazine, launched Pos or Not (www.PosOrNot.com) — an online “game” targeted at young people that confronts HIV-related stigma. Pos or Not challenges stereotypes about who is affected and infected by HIV/AIDS and offers access to information about HIV and HIV testing. Pos or Not recieved a Beacon Award in 2009 in New Media.

“Pos or Not” was inspired by the winners of the “Change the Course of HIV Challenge,” a nationwide competition that asked college students to propose a viral, web-based game that would creatively engage people to help combat the spread of HIV/AIDS. The winning concept was submitted by a team from the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy.

Campaign Components

mtvU and Kaiser carried out a multifaceted on-the-ground, on-air, and online campaign to build a broad supportive community for Pos or Not . The campaign launched in coordination with mtvU’s spring concert tour, Campus Invasion Music Festival. Major artists and celebrities have lent their names to help stoke the online viral spread of Pos or Not , including Wyclef Jean, Fall Out Boy, Will.i.am, and Perez Hilton, to name a few. Eight public service ads (PSAs) featuring different game participants aired widely across MTV Network properties. Short promotional videos featuring musicians were also shot during the Campus Invasion tour and were aired on mtvU during the concert series. The reach of the game continues to exist online as users link to the game and one another through the Pos or Not website, banner ads, and MySpace and Facebook profile pages and widgets.

Facebook

The Message

Modeled after the popular online concept HotOrNot.com, Pos or Not asks players to decide whether they think a person is HIV positive or not, based only on his or her photograph and a few personal details. By showing that you can’t tell a person’s HIV-status by the way he or she looks, the game confronts stereotypes about who is affected by HIV/AIDS and offers young people a more personal understanding of the disease. Pos or Not emphasizes that HIV affects everyone and that the only way to truly know your own or some else’s HIV status is by getting tested.

The Need

In the US, more than a million people today are estimated to be living with HIV and according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in four of them don’t know their status. More new HIV infections occurred among adolescents and young adults 13–29 years old (34%) than any other age group in 2006, yet more than half of 18–25 year-olds say HIV doesn’t really concern them. Lack of information and stigma remains a major barrier to prevention and testing. Although the CDC recommends routine HIV screening for all American teens and adults, many Americans do not get tested because they do not think they are at risk.

Fact Sheet: Sexual Health of Adolescents and Young Adults in the United States

Research

The Media and HIV/AIDS: Making a Difference (.pdf)