The Bell Flower Clinic is a sexual health clinic in Indianapolis and part of the Marion County Health Department. They provide low to no-cost treatment and preventative care for low income or marginalized communities in the city.
In 2024, Mpox (formerly called Monkey Pox) had the potential to surge in large population centers as it did in 2023. The Bell Flower Clinic wished to raise awareness of the vaccine in the Indianapolis area.
Mpox has not had as high a fatality rate in the United States as it has in other parts of the world. Still, there is risk. However, the disease does cause highly visible and painful lesions on the skin. Not only do the lesions carry a bit of stigma in the LGBTQ+ community, but also they make the infected person feel embarrassed and uncomfortable in social and work interactions – either having to explain it or feeling like they have to hide it.
We wanted to do something uncommon in the Midwest when it comes to sexual health disease prevention - be sex positive and avoid any scare tactics. That led us toward the campaign idea of “Stay Fresh and Tasty.” The focus was about the positives of staying Mpox free and how you can enjoy the summer season ahead. All the graphics centered around double entendres pulled from the world of fresh produce, and yes, the meat counter.
For the campaign, we ran local ads on Grindr leading up to the Indy Pride event to raise awareness as well as created giveaways at the event that would encourage visits to the on-site mobile clinic to receive or schedule vaccinations.
Our research revealed there was a bit of a stigma in the LGBTQ+ community around Mpox with a connection to “being unclean.” Also, the lesions can be highly visible on the face which made the infected person feel embarrassed in social and workplace situations. It was this insight that led us to the campaign theme of “Stay Fresh and Tasty.”
We wanted to focus on the positive of getting the Mpox vaccine and how getting vaccinated meant you could live your summer to the “hottest and juiciest” version of yourself.
In general, we try to make everything for the Bell Flower clinic as sex positive as possible. MSM (Men who have sex with men) have had to live their lives with messages warning them about this disease or that disease in ways that other population do not. The constant warnings can simply become noise at best and feel like an attack on who you are at worst. This campaign was focused on the idea of being yourself and living life without fear.
We wanted to focus on the positive of getting the Mpox vaccine and how getting vaccinated meant you could live your summer to the “hottest and juiciest” version of yourself.
In general, we try to make everything for the Bell Flower clinic as sex positive as possible. MSM ("Men who have sex with men") have had to live their lives with messages warning them about this disease or that disease in ways that other population do not. The constant warnings can simply become noise at best and feel like an attack on who you are at worst. This campaign was focused on the idea of being yourself and living life without fear.
Given the primary audience was MSM, most of the double entendres centered around male genitalia. “Served by the Pound, Just Add Cream, and A Filling Source of Vitamin D” to name a few. However, items from the campaign were also distributed at events with all of the LGBTQ+ community represented. So, we made sure to have a number of non-gendered items as well. No one should be left out of the fun.
It was important that the swag connected to the overall campaign, but it was even more important that the swag be something that people would actually take, wear, and use. When someone was wearing one of those hats or buttons, we wanted attendees at the Pride events running up to them and asking, “Where did you get that?!” And that’s exactly what happened. People were lining up at the booth to get their “Proud, Loud, and Juicy” and “Fresh Pricked” swag, and as a result, the mobile clinic had a steady stream of vaccinations.
The items created the draw to the booth that we desired as lines were constant. With signage surrounding the booth and helpful Bell Flower staff present, people were consulted about Mpox and were able to schedule their Mpox vaccination. As a result of the total campaign, Mpox had an extremely low incidence rate in Indianapolis during the summer of 2024.
