Make New Zealand the Best Place in the World to Have Herpes

THE NEW ZEALAND HERPES FOUNDATION

The social stigma of herpes leads to depressive and suicidal thoughts in 30% of New Zealanders diagnosed. We needed people to take herpes stigma seriously – a difficult task when herpes had been the punchline of jokes for decades.

But if there’s one thing Kiwis do take seriously, it’s beating the rest of the world at literally anything. So, at a time when patriotism was at an all-time low, we took a topic shrouded in shame, and turned it into a conversation of national pride. We set out to unite New Zealand in pursuit of a new world #1 title: becoming ‘The Best Place in the World to Have Herpes.’

The campaign appeared more like a dated tourism campaign than a health message, combining archive material and a nostalgic design treatment reminiscent of the 1980s – a golden age for NZ’s economy, culture and environment. Removing the negative associations that reinforce stigma, and presenting New Zealand as a beautiful, stigma-free paradise.

Humour was used to disarm and open up the conversation; but herpes was never the punchline. The website featured the world’s first ‘Herpes Destigmatisation Course’ - a nostalgic sex ed class taught by unexpected New Zealand icons, from rugby heroes to real housewives. Engaging with the course lowered your own stigma, while increasing your country’s score on a live global leaderboard, with starting positions determined by global research pre-launch. This gamified the quest to reach number one, turning the reduction of herpes stigma into something all Kiwis could get behind.

Over eight weeks of nationwide effort, New Zealand climbed to #1 on the leaderboard and became ‘Officially the Best Place in the World to Have Herpes.’ During that time, 10,776 hours of educational content were viewed – over a year’s worth of learning. 86% of participants said they now feel comfortable discussing herpes openly. The Herpes Destigmatisation Course is being trialled as a sex education resource in New Zealand high schools.