Univision and Kaiser Foundation Mark National Latino AIDS Awareness Day With
New Campaign Featuring People Living With HIV/AIDS
Testimonials Aim to Inspire Hope and Debunk Myths in Response to Latino AIDS
Crisis
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Univision Communications Inc.
and the Kaiser Family Foundation today unveiled the second phase of "SOY. . ."
(I AM. . .), the groundbreaking Spanish-language media campaign featuring the
personal stories of a diverse group of Latinos living with HIV and their loved
ones. The new campaign materials will debut on the Univision Network, the
Telefutura Network and Galavision in conjunction with National Latino AIDS
Awareness Day (NLAAD) on October 15th and continue throughout 2010.
"SOY. . ." features 14 Latinos in the U.S. and Latin America living with
HIV/AIDS who share both a passion for life and a desire to end the spread of
the disease. They are musicians, academics, businessmen and housewives -
everyday people who share their experiences living with HIV. Shot in Los
Angeles, Miami, New York, Mexico City, San Salvador, Lima, and Buenos Aires,
the documentary-style public service ads (PSAs) aim to create a personal
connection to HIV/AIDS among the audience and engender the feeling that
HIV/AIDS could affect "people like me and those I care about."
In the first wave of the campaign, which debuts today, audiences will meet
Yolanda, a devoted mother who works in a Los Angeles health clinic; Joann, a
minister and church choir director from Chicago; Alejandro, a 20-year old
Argentine musician; Dania, a vibrant Cuban-American poet and dancer from
Miami; and, Enrique, a passionate community activist from New York City. The
campaign spots will air in the United States on Univision, TeleFutura, and
Galavision networks and television and radio stations, and across more than 12
countries in Latin America as part of the Latin American Media AIDS
Initiative.
Developed by Univision and the Kaiser Family Foundation, "SOY. . ." includes
28 original public service ads (PSAs) for television and radio and
Spanish-language HIV/AIDS information and resources available online through a
dedicated website (www.univision.com keyword: SIDA) and via a toll-free
Spanish-language hotline (1-866-TU-SALUD). The campaign was developed as part
of ¡Enterate de VIH y SIDA! (Get the Facts about HIV and AIDS!), a
long-standing public information partnership established in 2001 between
Univision and the Kaiser Family Foundation to provide culturally relevant
Spanish-language information and resources about HIV/AIDS and sexual health.
The latest series of campaign spots were conceptualized by Kaiser and
Univision, and produced by ONYX.la and WeArePacheco, winners of 7 Lions Awards
at the 2009 Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival.
"Univision has a long history of addressing issues that are important to our
audience and the response to HIV and AIDS within our community is an urgent
issue," said Ivelisse Estrada, Senior Vice President for Corporate and
Community Relations at Univision Communications. "Our work to provide
information about HIV and link our audience to AIDS-related resources has made
a critical difference in breaking the silence about this disease and getting
people tested."
"Latinos in the United States are disproportionately impacted by HIV and AIDS,
and stigma remains a key challenge to addressing the problem within the
community," said Tina Hoff, Vice President and Director of Entertainment Media
Partnerships at the Kaiser Family Foundation. "By sharing their stories, the
individuals profiled in this campaign are connecting very personally with
audiences in the U.S. and across Latin America, helping to break the silence
and fight the stigma surrounding this disease."
The campaign launch coincides with Hispanic Heritage Month and National Latino
AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD) - a national collective movement and public health
marketing effort aimed at educating and mobilizing Hispanic/Latino communities
to increase their knowledge on the impact of HIV/AIDS and health related safe
practices. "SOY. . ." is the official campaign of NLAAD, and Univision and
Kaiser are working with the Latino Commission on AIDS and the National
Association of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD) to distribute
HIV/AIDS information resources and "SOY. . ." programming materials to
community organizations, health agencies and local clinics and across the
country.
"The 'SOY. . .' campaign provides an unprecedented opportunity to tell the
story of HIV/AIDS in our communities in a way that's real and compelling. The
campaign reinforces that each of us is equal in the face of AIDS - ending this
epidemic requires both personal responsibility and community action," said
Guillermo Chacon, interim Executive Director, Latino Commission on AIDS.
"Univision and Kaiser are real leaders in the Latino response to AIDS, linking
Univision's audience to critical resources and fighting the stigmas and
stereotypes that persist within our families and communities."
All campaign materials can be viewed at www.univision.com (keyword: SIDA) or
on the campaign's YouTube page: www.youtube.com/soycampaign.
About HIV/AIDS and U.S. Latinos
Of the approximately 1.2 million people living with HIV/AIDS in the United
States, 200,000 are Latino. The U.S. Latino community is disproportionately
affected by HIV/AIDS, accounting for 18 percent of total AIDS cases while
comprising only 14 percent of the U.S. population. Latinos are testing
positive for HIV, being diagnosed with AIDS and dying from the disease at four
times the rate of Caucasian counterparts in the United States. As the largest
and fastest growing ethnic minority group in the United States, addressing the
impact of HIV/AIDS in the Latino community takes on increased importance in
efforts to improve the nation's health.
About Univision Communications
Univision Communications Inc. is the premier Spanish-language media company in
the United States. Its operations include Univision Network, the most-watched
Spanish-language broadcast television network in the U.S. reaching 95% of U.S.
Hispanic Households; TeleFutura Network, a general-interest Spanish-language
broadcast television network, which was launched in 2002 and now reaches 85%
of U.S. Hispanic Households; Galavision, the country's leading
Spanish-language cable network; Univision Television Group, which owns and
operates 64 television stations in major U.S. Hispanic markets and Puerto
Rico; Univision Radio, the leading Spanish-language radio group which owns
and/or operates 68 radio stations in 16 of the top 25 U.S. Hispanic markets
and 5 stations in Puerto Rico; and Univision Interactive Media, which includes
http://www.univision.com, the premier Spanish-language Internet destination in
the U.S., and Univision Movil, the industry's most comprehensive
Spanish-language suite of mobile offerings. Univision Communications also has
a 50% interest in TuTv, a joint venture formed to broadcast Televisa's pay
television channels in the U.S. Univision Communications has television
network operations in Miami and television and radio stations and sales
offices in major cities throughout the United States. For more information,
please visit www.univision.net.
About the Kaiser Family Foundation
The Kaiser Family Foundation is a non-profit private operating foundation,
based in Menlo Park, California, dedicated to producing and communicating the
best possible information, research and analysis on health issues. It is not
associated with Kaiser Permanente or Kaiser Industries. Information on
HIV/AIDS, global health and Kaiser's public education partnerships with
entertainment media is available at www.kff.org.
SOURCE Kaiser Family Foundation
Monica Talan of Univision Communications Inc., +1-212-455-5331,
mtalan@univision.net; or Rakesh Singh of The Kaiser Family Foundation,
+1-650-854-9400, rakeshs@kff.org
