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Terrence Higgins Trust (THT)

New Media Recruitment

"The ways in which people engage with charities are becoming more fragmented and vary significantly in sophistication so it's important donors know that the charity they support doesn't just see them as a cashpoint. Hence we wanted people to become part of THT.

This campaign was called 'Gloves off' to recognise that 20 years after Diana, Princess of Wales famously shook hands with a young HIV positive man, people with HIV still hear the phrase, 'Glove up - this one's got HIV'. It is therefore time to take the 'gloves off' in the fight against discrimination.

The viral aspect of the campaign, featuring a sketch performed by Martin Clunes and Stephen Fry, gave supporters an engaging means by which to introduce the campaign to their friends.

Because of the nature of THT's work we were a little apprehensive that a Facebook presence might become a target for homophobic comment, and sure enough the abuse did come. But the fantastic thing was that the group's members took control of the situation and did THT's advocacy for them. And that's exactly what was supposed to happen."

George Milne
Joint Managing Director