Scrutinize campaign: a youth HIV prevention campaign addressing multiple and concurrent partnerships

Launched on South African television in June 2008, the Scrutinize Campaign was a year-long series of HIV prevention ads targeting multiple and concurrent sexual partnerships. Irreverent and humorous, with strong, colorful visuals, the campaign's ads were markedly different from previous South African HIV prevention campaigns for youth. Rather than telling the audience what to do, the Scrutinize campaign messaging encouraged those in the audience to scrutinize their own behavior, resulting in dramatic uptake of key HIV prevention messages.