German AIDS Organization Raises Hackles With Hitler Ad
September 10, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
An HIV/AIDS education charity, Regenbogen, will begin airing commercials in Germany next week likening unprotected sex to going to bed with Adolf Hitler, reports ABC News.
The provocative spot, which has already surfaced on YouTube, shows a woman in bed with a Hitler look-alike. It ends with the tagline, “AIDS is a mass murderer — protect yourself!” The charity has produced similar ads featuring Saddam Hussein and Josef Stalin.
Other European AIDS charities have distanced themselves from the campaign, with some saying it stigmatizes those who suffer from the disease. Public-health researchers and experts interviewed by ABC differ on whether such “fear ads” are effective in promoting awareness and changing dangerous behavior.
