Dying of Ignorance?
In 1987 the British government launched a major public heath campaign warning of the dangers of what was then a new killer disease - AIDS. Every household in the country received a leaflet entitled ' AIDS - 'Don't die of ignorance' . This was accompanied by two nightmarish TV advertisements featuring the violent eruption of a volcano, a crumbling iceberg and the four apocalyptic letters A-I-D-S being chiselled into a gravestone to the strains of the latin hymn for the dead 'Dies Irae' ('Day of Wrath'). The chilling voice-over by John Hurt explained the dangers of this terrifying new phenomenon and gave a stark warning: 'If you ignore AIDS, it could be the death of you.' This campaign was both a major success and a disastrous failure. It was a success because it did indeed strike terror into people's hearts. Everyone was aware of this new health threat and suddenly became fearful of 'catching AIDS' (sic). Ironically - and tra...