DDB Creative is Part of the Groundbreaking National HIV/AIDS Campaign Initiative by Viacom and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

Assignment/Business Editors

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 7, 2003

Today, Viacom and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation are launching a groundbreaking national HIV/AIDS advertising campaign of which a portion of the television and outdoor campaign was created and produced by DDB Bass & Howes.

To date, this is the largest public service advertising campaign ever, with Viacom pledging ad placements for 2003 valued at $120 million, which will run across the company's television, radio, outdoor advertising properties, including CBS, Showtime, BET, MTV, MTV2, VH1, TNN, CMT, Nick at Nite, Nickelodeon, Showtime, and TV Land. In addition to traditional media, Viacom has also donated time at Viacom-owned movie theatres around the country.

Targeting the American general population, DDB Bass & Howes has created three :30 and six :10 television spots, in addition to an outdoor campaign which will be featured in cities around the country, such as, New York, Washington DC, San Francisco and Los Angeles. The first of the outdoor ads was unveiled this morning on the Viacom building in Times Square.

"We're trying to reignite concern about the AIDS crisis. There is a disturbing complacency about HIV/AIDS within our society," comments Randy Gerda, Associate Creative Director. Gerda adds, "Many Americans view HIV/AIDS as someone else's problem. We're trying to make an AIDS crisis that seems distant, feel very close to home. Hopefully we can make people aware that it's not `those other peoples' problem, but all of ours."

The :30 television spots entitled, "Little Reminders," "SUV Mom," and "Boy" put the viewers in the shoes of the people who live in the countries hit hard by this epidemic. While these situations may never happen in the United States, they are the reality for many communities around the world.

While the :30 spots tell a story, the :10 spots provide a quick, factual jolt to viewers, alerting them of the startling HIV/AIDS statistics.

Candy S. Cox, Managing Partner comments, "We believe this work can make a difference. We have been committed to raising awareness of HIV/AIDS for many years on a local and national level, and are committed to fighting this disease. We have created work that is powerful and unique and will create change."

Credit for the campaign goes to: Fred Hammerquist, Creative Director; Candy S. Cox, Managing Partner; Randy Gerda, Associate Creative Director; Eric Gutierrez, Associate Creative Director; Niki Polycan and Heidi Molden, TV Producers; Denise Burdette, Managing Editor; Peter D'Agostino, Art Director; John Zilly, Copywriter; Leslie Cohan, Account Supervisor; Tracy Mullen, Print Production Manager; Lindsey Lower, Traffic Manager.

The campaign is managed by DDB Bass & Howes. DDB Bass & Howes specializes in bringing complex social, environmental, family and health issues to the mainstream for non-profit organizations, associations, foundations, corporations, and government. DDB Bass & Howes delivers integrated solutions, drawing on a broad range of marketing communications, government affairs/advocacy, and policy/programs. With access to the comprehensive resources of DDB Worldwide's international network of 206 offices in 96 countries, DDB Bass & Howes is able to provide clients with a full spectrum of communications, public affairs and policy expertise.

DDB (www.ddb.com) is the second largest advertising agency in the United States and the third largest worldwide (based on consolidated gross income).

Campaign Descriptors

The following is an overview of the television and outdoor campaign:

-- "Little Reminders" features a woman who is busy with her life, like most of us are. It shows her getting into her car where she finds a flyer about HIV/AIDS on her windshield, she wipes it away with the windshield wipers, frustrated that it was left there, she then almost hits a man wearing a sandwich board with HIV/AIDS statistics; she then motions him to move out of the way. She arrives home, puts her purse and keys down and the phone rings. Her husband answers it in another room yells to her, "Honey, it's the AIDS crisis." She shouts back, "Tell them we're not interested." Finally, her teenage daughter walks in the room, the women is looking at a piece of mail with a statistic about young people accounting for the most new cases of HIV/AIDS. "Young people account for most new HIV infections."

-- "SUV Mom" shows a woman driving through her neighborhood, looking at the boarded-up houses and overgrown and unmaintained yards. She speaks to us on camera as she is driving and describing her neighbors who have died from HIV/AIDS. As she drives along, you can see the back of her SUV which is filled with household supplies and food. She slowly describes her neighbors, "That's Stan and Jill Foster's place...they were the first to go...then Carol Pierce...Dan Walton...the Cohens... Next, you see her carrying a box of household supplies up the front walk of a house. There's a child at the front door who is waiting to take it from her. What if AIDS hit your world the way it's hit other parts of the world?

-- In the spot entitled "Boy" you see a typical upscale, large suburban home. Cues of the traditional American family fill the rooms. Family pictures are on the walls. The house exudes comfort, stability and conservative values, yet it is disheveled as though it has not been cleaned in a long time -- there's dust on the dining room table, clutter at the front door, and piles of dishes in the kitchen. A young boy walks through his dad's den, "My dad died when I was six." You hear him talking, straightening up a little, feeding his dog, activities that give us the sense that he's taking care of himself, we hear him say, "Then, my mom had my little brother. He was born with it. They both got sick and died." Finally, we see him in a girl's room, "This is the room my big sister died in." Imagine if AIDS hit your world the way it's hit other parts of the world.

The three executions for the outdoor campaign demonstrate that HIV/AIDS is not just the problem of those "other people" in far away places. It's real and it's happening to your friends, family, and neighbors.

-- "Map" shows a global map all in orange, except for the blue water. There are two keys on the map, both orange. The keys read, "Regions affected by HIV." "Regions where HIV is preventable."

-- "Necklace" shows the upper body of a woman wearing a necklace with the words H-I-V dangling from it. The text reads, "Half of adults with HIV worldwide are women."

-- "Jacket" shows a young man wearing a high school letter jacket with the words H-I-V, instead of his high school letters. The text reads, "Most new HIV infections occur in people under 25."