Vinich Virak, Technical Advisor, EpiC Cambodia

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Phnom Penh – Meeting Targets and Maintaining Epidemic Control (EpiC), a global project funded by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in collaboration with The National Center for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology and Sexually Transmitted Infections (NCHADS) launched a mini social media campaign in Cambodia for Valentine’s Day 2021 titled, “Love Deeper Love Safer.”

The objectives were to promote safe sex and condom use among young adults by making the hashtag #lovedeeper trend on social media on Valentine’s Day, creating a buzz and engaging young audiences to participate in a narrative about safe sex.

As part of the campaign, four respected artists – Felix Sea (model/actor), Skylor Ros (fashion designer/model), Shanghai Chang (director/painter), and Ting Tong (singer/actor) volunteered to be our messengers. In collaboration with them, the project produced a series of photoshoots and two videos, which were published on NCHADS’ Facebook page as well as on the artists’ own Facebook and Instagram pages.

The photos feature colorful artwork and key messages such as “Happy Valentine’s Day with responsibility” and “Have fun and be in control.” Additionally, we designed a “Love Deeper” frame that people could use on their profile pictures on Facebook.

The main video features a story of a young couple on a Valentine’s date. When the man realizes he’s missing something important, he freezes time and runs back to grab it. We then see him giving a flower to his date and putting a condom in his pocket. The message is “Be in control and be responsible.” The second video is a combination of heartfelt statements from people about what Valentine’s Day means to them. 

As a result of the Valentine’s campaign, we saw almost immediate engagement: social media users posted on Facebook and Instagram using our hashtags #lovedeeper and #ME2U, put our campaign frame on their profile, and re-posted and shared posts from our artists.

Access the promo video.
Watch the video “What Valentine’s Day Means to You.”
Like our Facebook page.

Photo Credit: Saren Chansereywatana