Background:Rock4Aids is a project that generates funds used for educating the youth, and raising social awareness on the truths of HIV.

The Challenge:In order to raise money to fund a meaningful awareness program, we had to design a piece of communication compelling enough to prompt local and international artists to come to Johannesburg and perform for free.The Insight:Our country nurtures some disturbing misconceptions as to how Aids is transmitted and cured. Ultimately, it’s social apathy and silence that fuel the spread of this virus, and only by speaking up and providing open education on HIV can we reverse the situation.Execution:Direct mailer invitations, each featuring a guitar with its strings removed, were packaged in coffin-shaped cardboard guitar boxes and sent to artists. This was accompanied by a brochure with the message ‘The silence is killing us’ compelling them to use their voice of authority to inspire the passive.Copy:The brochure design utilised 6 guitar strings and the copy, which compelled the artists to join the project, was accordingly broken down into 6 paragraphs. The final paragraph calls upon the artist to restring the guitar thereby breaking the silence.