'Healthy Penis' and 'Phil the Sore' Prove Effective In Health Ad Campaign

A 'Healthy Penis' campaign using cartoon strips to get the safe sex message across, has had great success in encouraging gay and bisexual men have syphilis tests. San Francisco has experienced increased rates of syphilis, especially in white males, who identified as gay and bisexual. Cases of the sexually transmitted disease increased from 44 cases in 1999 to 494 by 2002. Sixty one percent of syphilis cases were also infected with HIV.

In June 2002, the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH), Sexually Transmitted Disease Prevention and Control Services, launched the social marketing campaign. The ads featuring 'Healthy Penis' and 'Phil the Sore', were placed on gay websites, in a gay newspaper, in bars and commercial sex venues, and on posters in neighborhoods where many gay or bisexual men live.

The researchers found that the sexually transmitted disease (STD) effective. Gay and bisexual men who were aware of the cartoons were more likely than those who were unaware to have tested recently for syphilis. They were also much more knowledgeable about the disease. Katherine Ahrens and her research colleagues found the marketing campaign sustained almost three years later.

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