UNICEF embarks on global AIDS ad campaign

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), in partnership with Clear Channel, the world's largest radio and outdoor advertising group, has embarked on a global anti-AIDS advertising campaign. Clear Channel spent more than US $5 million earlier this year on an international competition to create a hard-hitting advert that emphasised the impact of AIDS on the world's children. A South African newspaper, The Star, quoted Clear Channel's Paul Meyer as saying, "The HIV/AIDS pandemic needs the world's attention. There is no more effective way to force people to take notice than with outdoor advertising, and we can think of no better use of the world's most effective outdoor network. By forming this alliance with UNICEF we hope to donate our voice to the cause." The billboard advertisement, scheduled to appear around the world from next month, was unveiled simultaneously in Johannesburg, New York and London by celebrity UNICEF ambassadors.