• by Les Luchter , April 15, 2026

“You might remember our next guest from the 1980s,” says the talk show host. “Since then, with proper medication, a very manageable condition. Please welcome HIV.”

The camera turns to the show’s guest, who replies, “Manageable but still going viral,” followed by patients saying “I used to dominate the headlines. Now no one talks about me.”

That’s just the opening salvo of an organic/paid social media video that aims to make young people aware that HIV is “Still Here.”

Stating that “more than half of new HIV cases are in people under 35,” the ad then becomes more provocative: “You don't know your status. You won't get tested. You act like I don't exist.  But I'm still here. While you ignore me, I'm out here changing lives.”

A closing graphic notes, “HIV Thrives in Silence. Use Your Voice. Start Talking About HIV.”

The spot, created by Gorilla Gorilla!, comes from GSK’s ViiV Healthcare, the only pharma firm focused solely on HIV/AIDS.

Besides residing on ViiV’s YouTube channel, posts on Instagram and Tik Tok as well as a paid “dark ads” campaign on those platforms direct the target audience to the video.

That target audience is “young adults, including Black youth who are disproportionately impacted by HIV and account for half of all new HIV diagnoses among young people,” Bithiah Lafontant, ViiV’s head of enterprise communications, tells Marketing Daily.

The ‘Still Here’ campaign, Lafontant says, was “informed by conversations with young people and deliberately mirrors their language, style and even humor to get their attention and encourage them to stop and think about HIV. It’s so important we get teens and young adults involved in the HIV conversation and ensure they can see themselves reflected in HIV outreach.”

Lafontant cites a “great urgency” to raise young young people’s awareness right now, since “nearly one in five of all new HIV diagnoses in the U.S. are in young people aged 13-24, and nearly three in four young people aged 18-24 have never even been tested for HIV.”

While acknowledging “shifts in federal funding for HIV awareness campaigns,” Lafontant stresses that “Still Here” is only the latest of an ongoing series of awareness campaigns by ViiV, such as “Me in You, You in Me” a few years back.

Campaign success, she says, will be measured by “tracking digital engagement, including social media reach, video views and public sentiment analysis, to ensure our message resonates. Key performance indicators will focus on how effectively the campaign sparks crucial conversations and drives young people to seek information on HIV testing, prevention and treatment.

“Ultimately, our goal is for ‘Still Here’ is to be a catalyst for sustained dialogue and informed health decisions far beyond this initial launch.”