Solution: Female teams handed out USB sticks at erotica trade fairs. With the racy pictures and the text “CUM ON!”, the sticks and the packaging got people’s hopes up as to what was inside. But instead of porn, the USB sticks were loaded with an autostart file which automatically opened a virus alarm when the stick was plugged in. This virus alarm was a drastic way of demonstrating how quickly people can be infected by HIV. When users clicked on “help” or “close”, the stick’s submenu opened, including a link to the official website of Regenbogen e.V.: www.stopaids.de.

Results: The marketing operation took on a life of its own: the sticks were passed on to friends and the autostart file forwarded by email. This boosted the number of visitors to the website significantly.

Advertising Agency: Jung von Matt, Hamburg, Germany
Creative Directors: Bernhard Lukas, Arno Lindemann
Art Directors: Ole Kleinhans, Markus Kremer
Copywriters: Ole Kleinhans, Markus Kremer