shirtless man staring seductively with his arm raised over his head

Alberta Health Services

Plenty of Syph

A mock dating site where you can catch the STI of your dreams.

the challenge

With casual sex feeling as casual as ever, the risks of syphilis and other sexually transmitted infections (STI) weren’t being considered enough by young people. And cases of syphilis were on a serious rise in Alberta.

We needed to establish syphilis as an emerging, prevalent STI. We also needed to encourage young people to consider, then change their sexual behaviours — and get tested for STIs as a whole.

woman with long dark hair staring seductively with the text "Find out what my symptoms are tonight!"

the solution

plentyofsyph.com

The audience needed to overcome their, “Yeah, but that doesn’t happen to people like me” attitude. So we developed a strategy to encourage our audience to consider whether their next sexual partner might have syphilis or another STI.

A mock dating site — plentyofsyph.com — was created to showcase the promiscuous, casual behaviour towards sex, so prevalent with online dating sites.

The work

like a moth to a flame

We drove people to plentyofsyph.com through online ads and late-night TV commercials by mimicking the sexy draw of dating site ads. Our target audience was both entertained and disturbed by the parody and irony of the campaign. We even mocked up new incoming messages inviting site visitors to hear more steamy, sexy stuff about syphilis.

After the campaign launch nurses said they “suddenly went nuts at the clinic.” Visits to STI clinics were up 17% compared to the same time in the year previous, an increase of 1,390 people. And many Alberta physicians reported more patients starting discussions about syphilis and other STIs during visits.

two poster mockups that look like dating profiles with text like "Spread more than just love tonight!"

getting social

The campaign had robust social and mass media strategies. When the campaign launched, social media instantly lit up. People would contact their friends and ask “is it possible I just saw an ad for a dating site for people with syphilis?” Mass media were generous in their commentary. CTV said they had never seen such a ripple effect from a campaign.

woman lounging on a couch propped up on her arm with the text "FREE and easy to try!"

results
that
matter

Compared to the same time the previous year, visits to STI clinics were up after the six week campaign. Perhaps even more important for prevention, the campaign had exceptional recall and Alberta physicians reported a major increase in patients asking about syphilis and other STIs.

888 000 K+

Over 110,000 visits to the website over 6 week campaign

88 00 %

Howard Research survey reported 92% recall amongst 18 - 24 year olds four months after the campaign

88 00 %

Older audiences had an 86% recall after the campaign

88 00 %

Visits to STI clinics were up 17% (1,390 people) compared to the previous year