In 2001, the rate of HIV infection amongst young gay males was on the rise in Vancouver. There was a perception with gay youth that if they got infected it wasn’t a big deal, all they had to do was take some pills and everything was fine. Aids Vancouver approached us to come up with a spot educating the younger generation of the serious side effects of these ‘drug cocktails’. There was one caveat, they had already partnered with Global Mechanic, a local animation studio to produce the spot. I don’t think any of us initially thought to go the animation route, but in the end we produced a very powerful piece of communication.
Thankfully this spot is not as relevant today as it was when it aired. HIV therapies have progressed by leaps and bounds. People living with HIV are now living longer, healthier lives.