High Risk Sexual Behaviour Under Scrutiny
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Scrutinize is a new series of short, animated commercials called animerts based on the realities of life in South Africa that place young people at risk of HIV infection.
The series, aimed at 18 to 32-year-olds, uses animated township characters to communicate with its target group. These characters are placed in everyday situations to illustrate the temptations and difficulties that face young South Africans.
The intention is that viewers will be influenced to make the right decisions in their lives because they identify with the characters.
The series was created in partnership with USAid, Johns Hopkins Health Education in SA, Levi Strauss SA and the creators of the series, Matchboxology, with funding from the US President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief.
Patrick Coleman, managing director of Johns Hopkins Health Education, said: “Scrutinize uses South African slang and symbology with the kind of humour that makes shows like The Simpsons so popular around the world.
“People laugh because they can see themselves, but you can see in their eyes they are getting the message.â€
The lead character — created by comedian Joey Rasdien — is a taxi driver on a mission: to turn HIV to H- I-Victory. The rest of the cast consists of local talents such as Sophie Ndaba, Kedibone Mulaudzi, Welile Tembe and Darren Maule. Each character learns an important lesson in the daily struggle to avoid HIV.
The series attempts to personify HIV in order to communicate with young people.
According to a statement released by the partnership, the main character appears “alongside sugar daddies and mommas, hanging around when there’s drunken sex in shebeens, and never far from the stigma and prejudice that help it grow strongerâ€.
Kent Hill of USAid said: “International best practice in public health communication shows that combining the evidence of what drives the epidemic with relevant messages is far more likely to have a lasting impact.â€
He believes that the show has the potential to create noticeable change in the audience’s attitude when it comes to high-risk sexual behaviour.
Tags: aids relief, aim, animated commercials, daily struggle, drunken sex, education, everyday situations, health communication, Health Education, hiv infection, intention, johns hopkins health, kent hill, levi strauss, partnership, patrick coleman, realities of life, relevant messages, risk, shebeens, south african slang, south africans, sugar daddies, target, tembe