“Did you know that nearly half of all new HIV diagnoses in women are Black women? That’s not just a stat. That’s personal. We don’t gamble with odds like that. OK, that’s a fact. But the good news is, we stay ready.”
That’s the inner dialogue of an empowered Black woman who has just received a 2 a.m. booty call text—”U UP?”—as she prepares her next steps, which include asking her potential hookup whether he’s up to date on his HIV status. It’s a scene from a new ad titled “Up to Date” from HIV drugmaker Gilead Sciences that aims to normalize HIV prevention.
The ad promotes the idea that “When you date, be up to date on HIV prevention.” It will air on streaming services, including Urban One, BET, Tubi, Roku and Peacock, where it will air during the Real Housewives of Atlanta.
You can watch the ad by clicking through the image at the top of this article and directly on YouTube.
The ad stars comedians Nicole Byer and Devon Walker (yes, we get to see the man’s point of view too!) and was created in partnership with Majority, a minority-owned and -operated Atlanta ad agency.
The commercial is part of Gilead’s larger initiative Care for the Culture, which aims to make discussions about sexual health part of everyday conversations among Black communities.
Last year, the initiative partnered with a rap icon to create a new anthem for sexual empowerment and HIV prevention in Black communities. To learn more, see “TLC’s Tionne ‘T-Boz’ Watkins Reworks ’90s Hit for HIV Prevention Campaign.”
Watch that video below:
As Care for the Culture explains its goals:
Too often, stigma and fear get in the way of HIV prevention in communities that are disproportionately impacted by HIV, particularly Black communities, where the impact is real and the convo is long overdue.
Care for the Culture is a movement rooted in love, truth, and keeping things real. Zero shame, all facts. Making sexual health part of the conversation, not the taboo.
It is true that Black Americans are disproportionately affected by HIV. According to national data, Black Americans make up about 13% of the U.S. population, but in 2023, they accounted for 39% of people living with HIV and 38% of those newly diagnosed with HIV. What’s more, among those newly diagnosed in 2023, Black women had the highest rate of new diagnoses compared with women of all other races and ethnicities, and Black youth accounted for nearly half of all new diagnoses among youth.
To learn more, check out the POZ Basics “HIV and African Americans” and click #African American for articles such as:
In related news, Friday, July 17, marks National HIV Prevention Day.
To date, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved four forms of PrEP: Truvada and Descovy are daily pills; Apretude is a shot given every two months; and Yeztugo is a twice-yearly injectable that is highly effective in women, gay men and gender-diverse populations. Due to insufficient evidence, Descovy is not yet indicated as PrEP for cisgender women and trans men. Generic (and much cheaper) versions of Truvada are available. To learn more about PrEP, see the POZ Basics on HIV Prevention: Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP).
