Syphilis Ain’t It

Sexual health isn’t ‘sexy’

Sexual health is hard to talk about. In 2025, Aotearoa is experiencing a syphilis epidemic. While this is not good for people having sex, more devastatingly, syphilis can be passed onto babies in utero – with lasting impacts on them and their whānau. 

Adding to the challenge, syphilis can be hard to diagnose with 50% of cases showing no symptoms. And the only way to accurately test for it is via a blood test. However, once tested, syphilis is easily treatable. 

In response to this, we worked with the Ministry of Health Te Whatu Ora to create a campaign to raise awareness of the need to test for everyone who is having sex to test for syphilis. 

Nobody knows about it

Through our discovery phase we met one-on-one with subject matter advisors who shared their experiences working with communities to promote, support and encourage sexual health testing. We also worked with teams of young wāhine and tāne to help us understand what their peers knew about syphilis, sexual health testing, and what might motivate more testing.  

Unsurprisingly, we heard that awareness about syphilis is at an all-time low; with most young people sharing that it they knew little to nothing about it. They also openly shared that despite wanting to live in a more sex-positive way, there is still a huge sense of stigma and shame that prevents sexual health kōrero and STI testing. 

But, this is a conversation that they want to be having. They shared that they would like kōrero about sexual health and regular testing to be normalised, to be relational and built on trust. Many reflected on the slightly older sibling, cousin or family friend that had been a treasured source of information, or a confidant around this subject matter.

Say it straight

Working in an environment of extremely low understanding and awareness of syphilis meant our approach would need to be bold and contain a clear call to action. In this environment, being straight-up was going to be vitally important for our audience; there wouldn’t be room for ambiguity. 

Alongside this boldness, it was essential that our message didn’t stigmatise. It needed to be sex-positive and future-focussed, with messaging to clearly convey the importance of getting a blood test for syphilis. 

Importantly, while there would be one simple message, we recognised that this would need to appeal to three audiences: those who are sexually active; those who are already pregnant; and those essential frontline messengers, who could offer STI blood tests as part of their consultations. 

Creative: Syphilis Ain’t it

‘Syphilis Ain’t It’ is a campaign that straight-up tells you what it is. Because general awareness around syphilis is close to zero, the campaign takes a simple, no-holds-barred approach to informing its audience. Using big, bold typography, vibrant colour and punchy copy that leaves no room for shyness. If you’re having sex, get tested.

During creative development, we played with the energy of a ‘Big Sis’ character that guided our use of bold language, typography and the visual treatment. The result is a world packed with a vibrant energy that purposely feels different to traditional health messaging. Our straight-up audience doesn’t beat around the bush (literally). So an honest approach? That’s where it’s at. 

The final creative treatment heroes realness, but with an art-directed attitude that’s broad enough to appeal to both wāhine and tāne, and expanding to encompass both parenthood and couples.

Normalising the conversation

The campaign was shared across OOH and digital platforms, intentionally normalising and destigmatising this important conversation. Crucially, the imagery expanded to testing sites across Aotearoa, emerging where our audience is already considering these important issues.