Comprehensive analysis of national and local HIV/AIDS related advertising and public service announcements in the U.S,, 2002-2007

Background. As a public health priority, HIV is present in the U.S. mass media in public service announcements across myriad national, state, and local campaigns. In addition, there are advertisements for products like HIV home test kits and prescription drugs. The purpose of the research addressed here is to provide the first comprehensive analysis of advertising and PSAs in national and local mass media dealing with HIV treatment and prevention.

Methods. Analysis of HIV and AIDS-related ads and PSAs in print, broadcast, and internet for the years 2002-2007 from an advertising industry database.

Results. PSAs constituted 91% ($713 million) of total advertising for HIV/AIDS-related ads. The top three major campaigns represented in the public service announcements were Know HIV AIDS, AIDS Awareness, and Rap it Up. About four percent of the remaining ads were for sexual prescription medications. Religious, charitable and humanitarian-related advertisements appeared second-most often (2521 ads) although they ad time was worth less than for prescription sexual medications (575 ads, $30 million) and pharmaceutical houses (177 ads, $12.5 million). However, there was a sharp decrease in the number of PSAs from 2006 to 2007.

Conclusions. Public health researchers and policy makers need to consider the overall presence of HIV/AIDS messages in the mass media. The present study enables planners to understand trends in larger picture -- across commercial, non-profit, and government sources -- of HIV prevention and treatment messages.