Cannes Lions

Sperm Positive: The World’s First HIV-Positive Sperm Bank

DDB NEW ZEALAND, Auckland / NEW ZEALAND AIDS FOUNDATION, BODY POSITIVE INC., POSITIVE WOMEN INC. / 2021

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Overview

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Overview

Background

Since 1981, HIV has been a death sentence. Medical advancements have changed that – and now, with treatment, HIV becomes undetectable in the body and cannot be passed on, even through unprotected sex, bodily fluid, or childbirth. But because most people don't know this, the stigma of HIV has never changed.

For World AIDS Day, the New Zealand AIDS Foundation needed an idea that would fight the stigma of HIV by showing that the virus cannot be passed on in a way the world has never seen before.

We needed the campaign to have a big impact on a very small budget and create a new conversation about the truth of HIV. So, we did the unthinkable – we created the world’s first sperm bank for HIV-positive sperm donors, which led to the birth of the first baby from an HIV-positive sperm bank in January this year.

Idea

To show the world that HIV cannot be passed on, we created Sperm Positive: The World’s First HIV-Positive Sperm Bank. The online sperm bank gave men living with HIV the opportunity to join and become sperm donors, it gave women the opportunity to register as recipients and allowed us to create a PR-led conversation that would show the world that HIV cannot be passed on in the most undeniable way possible – childbirth.

Strategy

The stigma of HIV still exists all over the world – it’s a hugely polarizing topic. So, we leaned into the problem to ensure we could create a conversation topic that would make a big impact on a very small budget.

By creating a sperm bank for HIV-positive sperm donors, we were able to create a campaign that shocked and educated people all over the world. It confronted people with something they had never seen before, and something they couldn’t help but talk about.

It also allowed us to reach out to our community of men and women living with HIV, so we could share their stories and let them be a part of tackling the stigma of HIV.

Execution

We used World AIDS Day 2019 to launch Sperm Positive, opening our online sperm bank with an online video that called for donors and recipients to register. Our sperm bank shared information about how that when treated, HIV cannot be passed on.

Our call for donors and recipients was quickly picked up by media all over the world, sharing our key message, and generating a global conversation about the reality of HIV.

Outcome

Sperm Positive instantly created a global conversation about the reality of HIV.

Within a week, 94 countries shared our story as we managed to reach an audience of over 1.8 billion and earned over $13 million in media, including a 7-minute segment on CNN, on just a $10,000 NZD budget.

Now, Sperm Positive isn't just changing beliefs - it's changing lives. To date, 32 women have registered as mothers, 27 HIV-positive sperm donors have joined, 4 babies are due in 2021, and at 2:05pm on January 27th, 2021, the first baby from an HIV-positive sperm bank was born, living proof that HIV cannot be passed on – she’s a girl.