“Syphilis? That’s something from hundreds of years ago, right?” Unfortunately, no. In the last few years, syphilis cases in New Zealand have increased 560%. In fact, this archaic STI has become so rampant, it’s now at its highest levels in our country’s history. Of those affected, 70% were reported to be men having sex with men. We needed to confront them with the news of this infection’s return and prevent its spread by getting them to embrace safe sex. Even more importantly, since syphilis can be symptomless, we needed those most at risk to get tested.

To tackle New Zealand’s very modern problem with this ancient STI, our campaign embodied this mixing and muddling of eras. We set out to create portraits, reminiscent of 1500s paintings. Each would depict an old-world character, but set in a modern hook-up location – a graffitied toilet, a neon-lit club stairwell and a dancefloor, complete with disco-ball. Each character would proposition viewers with provocative headlines, woven together from aspects of modern pick-up slang and Shakespearean language. The type, while classically-inspired, was broken and rearranged in a modern way. We wanted to create a harmonious clashing of eras – blurring the line between history and the present.

The campaign ran in Express (New Zealand’s most popular LGBTQ magazine), featured in social media and dating apps, as well as in street and bar posters in LGBTQ-friendly areas, where casual hook-ups were taking place. A range of packaged condoms were also distributed at bars, clubs and events, promoting safe sex with Shakespearean-inspired calls-to-action, like “Cloak thy tallywacker” and “Wrappeth thy pecker”.

As a direct result of the campaign, syphilis testing increased by 20%. And, of those tested, there was a 350% increase in positive tests, meaning our campaign had reached the most at-risk group.