County health officials are having trouble finding a TV station willing to air a public service announcement about syphilis that employs a lumpy, red cartoon character named ”Phil the Sore.”
Los Angeles-area broadcasters said the ad is in poor taste, but the county health agency said it is simply trying to reach gay men — the group at greatest risk of getting the sexually transmitted disease, which has been on the rise in recent years.
In the 30-second ad, Phil follows two men going home together.
As the men later part, one of them, dressed in a bathrobe and underwear, says, ”Let’s do it again sometime.” Phil then calls in his whole family, whose members carry boxes labeled ”brain damage,” ”rash” and ”blindness” — all of which can result from syphilis.
None of the five Los Angeles-area television stations that were approached has run the ad.
KCBS spokesperson Mike Nelson said he was troubled that the ad took such a lighthearted tone about a serious disease. At KNBC, spokesperson Erin Dittman said her station rejected a request to run the spot during prime time’s Will & Grace, a show that features gay characters, but would run it after midnight.
County public health director Dr Jonathan Fielding said he found the TV stations’ stance distressing. ”Would I show it to a four- to five-year-old? No. But do I think it’s appropriate for an adult audience? Yes, I do,” Fielding said.
Annual syphilis cases reported among gay men in Los Angeles County grew from 93 to 364 between 2000 and 2003. – Sapa-AP