Question: How do you pierce decades of stigmatization of people living with HIV? Answer: You speak the unspeakable. Unapologetically.

And you do it in the first person. We partnered with Ebony Payne-English, a poet and person living with HIV, to create a testimonial that cut to the core.

Our video takes the audience on a journey into the emotion that accompanies a diagnosis, artfully cutting through stereotypes and misconceptions. The poem, written and delivered by Ebony, is presented in a way that felt both confrontational and vulnerable, a vulnerable performance about the exhausting vigilance required to stay in treatment and the stigmas that still stand in the way of acceptance.

The set design and location furthered the message, cutting from the foggy dystopia of her past to the dream-like garden of her future vision. The spot ends with a message that we knew needed to be heard by both those living with HIV and those without: “I have HIV, and I am worthy of love;” while a symbolic flower crown punctuates this moment of self-acceptance.

Equal parts dramatic performance and public service outreach, the spot succeeded in changing the conversation about what life is like for people living with HIV.