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BBC recruit G.I Jonny for online HIV campaign

29 Oct 2007

Through this month and December the BBC will be promoting HIV awareness with an energetic campaign spanning web, TV, radio, print and university events. The campaign is aimed primarily at 16-24 year olds - a group which is, research has revealed, increasingly at risk from HIV.

It was going to be an uphill battle - how does one convince young people to sign up to an educational campaign? Storming a 4 way pitch, the newly formed ‘Playgroup’ (the merger of NOWWASHYOURHANDS and Cleara) delivered an approachable concept centred around the miniature hero G.I. Jonny.

G.I. Jonny is a perfectly preserved action figure who, fully armed with the facts about HIV, is on a mission to inform and protect his mates. But he can’t do it alone - he's recruiting others to join him by creating and training his own highly informed army.

On reporting to www.gijonny.co.uk visitors are able to create their own customised action figure, armed with the facts about HIV. Once trained, recruits can spread the word by downloading to Facebook and protecting their mates. The more they protect the higher their G.I ranks.

Playgroup also created all the above the line materials for a nationwide above the line campaign involving condom packaging, flyers, stickers, tees and posters for use at university events.

G.I. Jonny is out in full force - he’s got the facts and he’s not afraid to use them.

Angus Mackinnon, Creative Director of Playgroup said:

"Many of us grew up with the dark and disturbing 'Don’t die of ignorance campaign' in the late 80's and knew that something radically different would be required to engage a modern audience.

Unlike the 80's campaign which made you want to run and hide, we measured this ones success around the breaking of taboo’s and the nurturing of conversation. The anonymous, yet socially vibrant nature of the web provides fertile soil to do this within. We simply leveraged the webs best features (social networking, and customisation) to create a playful, vibrant, and inclusive campaign"