When it comes to infectious diseases like malaria, and now Ebola, ads can play a vital role in stopping their spread. PSI often uses billboards and commercials to provide accurate information about how diseases spread and what to do about them. PSI recently announced its new partnership with Mercy Corps to support a public information campaign to stop Ebola in Liberia. We’ll be applying a world of knowledge from campaigns and ads our network created, such as these from earlier anti-malaria efforts:
1. Tanzania Television Ad for Ngao Mosquito Net Treatment
In Africa, malaria-infected mosquitoes usually bite between dusk and dawn. The distribution of long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets has been a major factor behind the 49% decrease in malaria cases in sub-Saharan Africa from 2000-2012. PSI is the world’s largest distributor of long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets. But not every bed net out there has been insecticide-treated — and the treatment itself wears off after a few years — which is why in Tanzania PSI worked with the private sector to introduce insecticide treatment tablets to the market, demonstrated in this ad from 2003.
2. Malaria Day Rwanda campaign for net distribution
In 2012, the latest year of statistics available, PSI’s malaria control program in Rwanda added an estimated 106,338 years of healthy life for the country. That kind of success has always been rooted in dynamic, locally-relevant marketing campaigns, like this one using billboards (below), brochures (pictured at top of post), and banners, targeted at mothers, developed with East Africa-based ad agency Iconic Squared.
3. Malaria Ishindwe! campaign in Kenya for net distribution and treatment
In 2013, the PSI network added 168,995 years of healthy life through its malaria control programs in Kenya. When early campaigns focused on fear and “shock and awe” did not have great results, PS Kenya developed a new umbrella campaign called “Malaria Ishindwe!” (“Down with Malaria!”), alluding to a common phrase used by preachers in churches as a rallying cry against evil. Learn more about the campaign.
4. Cambodia rapid diagnostic test and Malarine treatment commercial
Malarine is an artemisinin-combination therapy (ACT) to cure malaria with just one daily pill for three days. By combining different drugs, ACTs reduce the probability that malaria-causing parasites become resistant to the drug. Drug-resistant malaria is a brewing crisis in southeast Asia, which is why PSI is leading a major initiative to study how to stop it, with the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In the meantime, here’s an early ad for Malarine from Cambodia.
5. South Sudan Hunter ad for net distribution
While pregnant women and children under five years of age are most likely to die from malaria, it’s important that messaging appeal to everyone, including men. Here’s an ad from PSI in South Sudan, where PSI’s malaria control programs added an estimated 3.5 million years of healthy life in 2013 alone.
And lastly, this isn’t an ad, but here’s a fun moment from Jeopardy a few years ago that shows just how widespread PSI’s reputation on malaria prevention actually is. Enjoy!