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^(ndy) (ATTN: Financial, Feature editors) (Includes optional trims)<

^(Editors: in 6th graf, Anne tum Suden is correct)<

^National Campaign Aims to Inform Americans About AIDS (New York)<

^By Dottie Enrico=

^(c) 1991, Newsday=

NEW YORK _ The citizens of Tucker County, W.Va., are in for some serious

consciousness-raising.

A new national ad campaign will be unveiled this week that hopes to change

the way residents of Tucker County, and every other small-town citizen, view

the AIDS crisis.

Last May, several well-known ad figures announced their intention to lead an

industrywide campaign to combat misconceptions about Acquired Immune Deficiency

Syndrome. They announced the formation of the Ads Against AIDS task force,

along with a national awards contest for campaigns addressing AIDS-related

issues. The call for entries in several trade magazines produced more than

1,000 submissions from as far away as Venezuela and Paris.

``We were hesitant at first about creating another contest, but in the end

we agreed it was the best way to go,'' said Jack Mariucci, executive creative

director of DDB Needham and co-chairman of Ads Against AIDS.

On Wednesday, Ads Against AIDS will debut the winning print, TV and radio

campaigns at a fund-raising affair at the Marriott Marquis. Many are saying the

spots are among the most compelling public service efforts ever produced by

Madison Avenue.

One ad, created by Bill Yamada, Peter Bregman and Anne tum Suden of Wells,

Rich, Greene and directed by Tim Bieber, shows scenes from small town life in

Tucker County juxtaposed with AIDS statistics for rural areas. The purpose is

to illustrate that AIDS is not just an urban health crisis, but is spreading to

small communities as well.

Another winning TV spot, created by Stephen B. Luzzatto and Mark Fredericks

of Warwick, Baker & Fiore, shows images of babies with words like ``gay,''

``junkie'' and ``prostitute'' superimposed over their faces. The voice-over

says many of the faces threatened by AIDS do not match the names usually

associated with the illness.

A third ad, by Morleen Novitt and Eric David of Ayer Advertising, compares

the number of AIDS deaths to the murder of an entire community, and a fourth ad

by Demaine, Vickers & Associates in Alexandria, Va., drives home the message

that any person listed in the phone book could be stricken with AIDS. A final

winning spot, by Thom Baginski and Bob Adsit of DDB Needham Worldwide, shows

several jarring images of junkies, gays and a homeless man.

The effort couldn't have come any sooner. According to a study of public

service ads conducted by the Ad Council, last year media space donated for

AIDS-related issues was down 86.5 percent compared with 1989.

At the time the survey was released, Ad Council president Ruth Wooden

attributed some of the decline to the sensitive nature of the subject matter.

She said the use of the word ``condom'' in many of the ads often limited their

use.

The Ads Against AIDS group also ran into the sensitivity issue. Late last

week many of the winning ads were being reviewed and modified to comply with

network standards.

``This is a message that must be conveyed and it's a tough one to deliver,''

said Mariucci.

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The industry's effort was initiated by Robert Starr, a creative director at

DDB Needham Worldwide and a founder of People Taking Action Against AIDS, a

grass-roots organization founded to help fund AIDS organizations.

The Ads Against AIDS effort is actually the third major cause-related effort

mounted by the advertising industry. The Ad Council originally got its start

when the industry rallied to help the government during World War II. It was

followed in 1986 by an anti-drug campaign led by the Partnership for a

Drug-Free America. Media time donated to that campaign topped the $1 billion

mark in September.

What differentiates Ads Against AIDS, however, is that consciousness-raising

isn't the group's only goal. The group also hopes to raise funds for Starr's

People Taking Action Against AIDS organization, which last year benefited

smaller AIDS groups on Long Island and throughout the United States. country.

Some think the industry has taken on a sizable burden by hoping to do fund

raising for People Taking Action Against AIDS as well as raising awareness of

AIDS issues.

``Anything done to communicate the issues is helpful, but when you're

dealing with AIDS, the issues are changing on a regular basis,'' said the Ad

Council's Wooden. ``My concern is that an agency working on a pro bono effort

needs a good client to direct it.''

^Distributed by the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service=

LAT-WP 11-04 0119EST<