“We were ready to fight them if they kept pushing us to take it down. The message is too important for the audience that goes to Coachella
by Amber Larkins, OOH Today
Last week, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival organizers contacted the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), demanding AHF take down a billboard posted on I-10 Westbound advertising free sexually transmitted disease (STD) testing services. The sign reads, “Catch More Than Vibes?” and provides the link to FreeSTDCheck.org.
Coachella festival goers will see the advertisement as they are leaving the festival. Why was Coachella upset by the idea of safe sex and free STD checks?
Michael Weinstein, AHF president and cofounder, also wonders why.
“What are Coachella organizers afraid of? Do they not know how people spend their time during festival weekends?” said Weinstein. “It doesn’t help anyone to bury their heads in the desert sand and pretend people aren’t having sex. We want everyone to use condoms and practice safer sex, but if they don’t, we also want them to know where to get STD tested easily and for free.”
AHF spoke with a representative from AEG/Goldenvoice’s legal department. They said the billboard’s artwork was too similar to their copyrighted imagery.
They also threatened legal action if the billboard was not taken down in 48 hours.
“We could not find any proof to their claim,” said Jason Farmer, VP of Marketing and Creative, at AHF. “The background image they referenced was purchased from Getty Images and has been used in various other ads. We believe they were worried about the billboard painting the festival in a bad light.”
AHF responded they had no plans to remove the billboard and the media owner also agreed to continue to let it run.
“We were ready to fight them if they kept pushing us to take it down. The message is too important for the audience that goes to Coachella,” Farmer said.
AHF also responded to the threat with a press release.
“The amount of coverage it received was remarkable,” Farmer said. “We think that is why they gave in and didn’t pursue any further legal action.”
Though they haven’t had to take down any billboards recently, there were previously issues getting the “big three” billboard companies to run their “Just Use It” ad campaign, which featured a condom-clad banana.
“Since the outdoor industry is in the public space, [the medium] has a responsibility to advocate for public health,” Farmer said. “We hope that in the future, we will have more freedom to discuss the important topics of sexual health and not be censored.”
Burning Genitalia could take on a new meaning as AHF develops innovative concepts to encourage safe sex for other large festivals, including Burning Man.
Farmer says young people account for half of all new STD cases. Farmer also says there is a major lack of education in the US about sexual health and that condom access is a big problem in our country. He urges those who need testing to go to freeSTDcheck.org.
The “Catch More Than Vibes” campaign launched Tuesday, March 26, 2024 and will remain up throughout April, including the two weekends of Coachella: April 12-14 and April 19-21.
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