Working with Youth

South African youth audiences are a key target audience for JHHESA programming. JHHESA, in 2008, recognised that due to the cluttered media environment and growing HIV and AIDS message fatigue, a unique approach was needed to capture the attention of the youth, encourage them to reflect and understand sexual risk behaviour and to take action to prevent new infections.

The Scrutinize concept, borne out of Levis Red for Life campaign, presented an opportunity to provide new as well as widely known information in a short message format using animation (in the form of animated advertisements) , humour, the power of celebrities and recognisable signs and symbols to convey HIV messaging.

At the heart of the Scrutinize campaign is Victor, the Scrutinize taxi driver, who undertakes several quests to flip HIV to HI Victory by increasing people’s awareness of the risks of multiple and concurrent partners; alcohol, sex and HIV; transactional sex; early sexual debut and correct and consistent condom usage.

The success of the Scrutinize media campaign, which reached 91% of its intended audience in its first year, meant that a strong youth brand was created. The popularity of the campaign facilitated engagement with young people in schools, universities and in communities. With a range of tools, including a facilitator’s guide based on the animerts, and various other campaign materials, thousands of young people are reached through face to face communication activities, and continues to be valuable tool for working with young people in many contexts around the country.