Today, December 1, we celebrate the international day against AIDS. I know we are a little late, but it’s still December 1st so it works. Here are some of the most shocking campaigns to promote the cause. I didn’t put these in any specific order, I think they hold equal shock value in their own ways. NOTE: this article contains explict images. If you are under 18 we advise you to see it under parenting supervision. In other words, don’t be viewing this post in the open at work, while your boss is looking over your shoulder. Unless you want him to see you looking at Ken Doll getting his wiener sucked by another dude of course.

11. Aids Makes Us Equal (France).
Not even Superman is safe.

10. aides.org advertisement (France)
The French AIDS prevention and information organisation, aides.org, has come up with some scary posters campaign to remind people of the dangers of AIDS.


9. Cut and Paste Ad
There are some things that you can’t just simply press “control z.”

8. German AIDS Awareness Ads
The text in the ad reads as followed, “It’s easy to lose your head when you’re horny.” Ain’t that the truth.

7. Crash Test Dummy Ad
Crash test dummies are popular icons for safety. Why not use them for an Aids campaigning?

6. MTV AIDS Awareness Campaign in Brazil
The ads show retro images of threesomes (one dude, two girls; they did not get THAT edgy) with a copy that covers the man’s groin with the text “Except for AIDS, nothing has changed”.The campaign is created by advertising agency Loducca, São Paulo.

5. no vagina = no sex = no AIDS
Done by Agency CLM BBDO / France. The logo says: AIDS does not concern you?

4. Sleeping With The Past Ad
“Each time you sleep with someone, you also sleep with his past”. Campaign to promote HIV tests.

3. Love Life, Stop AIDS Ad
“If the past is interfering with your life, check-your-love-life”. The following ads by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health and the Swiss Aids Federation employ nudity in peculiar situations that incite both a surprised reaction and an interest in the narrative of the image. The ads certainly cause people to read the text and understand the context of the ad: 1. No intercourse without a condom, 2. No sperm or blood in the mouth. Thus, these ads are another example of the public benefit that can come out of shock advertising.

2. Ken Doll AIDS Ad
This ad was created by PHACE Scotland. It is upfront not only about gay relationships, but also their public perception of indecency. By situating the two men at nighttime, behind a bush, as an elderly woman walks down the street, portrays the seediness and discomfort that the general public seems to have with gay men. The plastic toy element adds to the kitschyness of the ad, furthering its shock value, and potentially its effectiveness. The text says: “they would talk about HIV status, but Ken’s got his mouth full”.

1. Adolf Hitler AIDS Ad
Now I know I said I didn’t put these in order, which I didn’t, but I defiantly put this as number one. The video has been banned from youtube (luckily for you I searched elsewhere) and it caused a national uproar. European HIV charities condemned a new German AIDS ad featuring Adolf Hilter, Josef Stalin and Saddam Hussein’s look-alikes having sex with naked women. The tag line of the ad is “Aids is a mass murderer” referring to the fact that 30 million people die of AIDS every year. The controversial advert has caused quite a stir among charity activists who blame the creators for the possible outcome of the campaign that’s already being launched on German TV channels and will run all the way through December 1, World AIDS Day. The agency behind the ad campaign is Das Committee.