This campaign uses the true-life stories of two young Russians, Sasha and Alec, both residents of St. Petersburg, who have lent details of their lives and personal stories from their childhood and adolescence to the campaign in order to show that HIV/AIDS can affect anyone, just as it did them. Their first names and faces are used in the advertisements, and tell the story of how they learned they were HIV-Positive at 22 and 24 respectively. This reflects the fact that four out of five Russians living with HIV/AIDS today are under the age of 30.



In the television and print advertisements, they are portrayed as being "just like many people their age," including thinking HIV/AIDS was something that couldn't happen to them, until it did. In separate radio ads, a college student, a businesswoman, an architect, and a psychologist question the impact of HIV/AIDS on their lives, until they are reminded that it doesn't matter who you are, all are equally at risk of AIDS.



All of the advertisements are branded with the StopSPID logo and website (click here) which provides detailed information for those wanting to know more about HIV/AIDS and how to prevent infection.

The new series of StopSPID advertisements begin appearing across television, radio and print outlets in April 2005 as part of a three-year, $200 million commitment by the members of the Russian Media Partnership to Combat HIV/AIDS. Coordinated by Transatlantic Partners Against AIDS (TPAA), the Partnership mobilises the communication power of more than 35 major Russian and international media companies - including Gazprom-Media, CTC-Media, Prof-Media, SOYUZ, MTV, MUZ-TV, Corbina Telecom, Golden Telecom, among others. This latest series marks the second phase of the StopSPID campaign, which originally launched on World AIDS Day (December 1st) 2004.

All StopSPID Public Service Advertisements (PSAs) are available rights-free to any media. Since launching last December, the StopSPID campaign has received prominent placement across a wide range of platforms, including:

• Prime-time ad placement on private national channels as well as the state-owned channel, Rossiya
• Prime-time ad placement on radio networks
• Ad placement on VHS tapes and DVDs distributed by "SOYUZ"
• Ad placements on outdoor screens owned by CityVision; and before feature presentations at CinemaPark locations across Russia
• The StopSPID logo and website cross-promoted on telephone and Internet cards of Corbina Telecom and ROL (a subsidiary of Golden Telecom)
• Special editorial and print content linked to the StopSPID campaign created and published in entertainment and analytical publications including Akzia, YES!, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping and Itogi, among others, as well as broadcast on TNT television.

HIV/AIDS, Youth.

According to the Russian Media Partnership to Combat HIV/AIDS, Russia has emerged as a major new epicenter in the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, with one of the world's fastest-growing rates of new infection. At present, there are over 320,000 registered cases of HIV infection in Russia. However, some independent Russian and international experts estimate that between 700,000 and 1.5 million Russians may be living with HIV, representing between 1 and 2 percent of its adult population. Young Russians are especially at-risk, with over 80 percent of all registered cases of HIV-infection among men and women under age 30.