Sadly, that sign has been taken down. But another natural-disaster-themed STD alert has taken its place. Behold the "Syphilis Tsunami." The gigantic billboard south of Wynwood makes use of the iconic print The Great Wave off Kanagawa to warn of rising STD rates in South Florida, which reported more than 2,200 cases of syphilis from 2013 to 2015, or about 42 percent of all cases in the Sunshine State.
The billboards are the work of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that is the largest provider of HIV/AIDS care in the nation. A spokesman for the organization tells New Times the ads, which point viewers to freeSTDcheck.org, are meant to be dramatic.
"When you think about a tsunami, when you think about an explosion, there is a time-sensitive call to action in terms of how communities address those issues," says Imara Canady, regional director for communications and community engagement for AHF's southern bureau. "And so it's kind of the metaphor of how we need to be addressing syphilis and STDs."
Predictably, the new signs drew attention soon after making their debut in Miami, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, and other cities where AHF says syphilis rates are rising.
Just when you thought a Sharknado was as bad as it gets...along comes a syphilis tsunami pic.twitter.com/OFR2ashlq8
— Cubbee_Girl (@Cubbee_Girl) July 6, 2017
Syphilis Tsunami is my least favorite Mountain Dew flavor. pic.twitter.com/SkthfdL9FV
— John Gholson (@gholson) July 7, 2017
And though many seemed amused by the ad, some decried it as racist:well this doesn't sound good pic.twitter.com/aURheAhSa8
— David Farrier (@davidfarrier) June 26, 2017
AHF's advertising style has caused controversy in the past. In 2015, the group's use of Tinder's logo on billboards earned it a cease-and-desist letter from the dating app. (Ultimately, Tinder agreed to add a health-safety section that includes a link to a free STD-testing site locator.) Last year, the organization removed two giant condom-featuring ads from I-95 and I-595 after being pressured by Fort Lauderdale tourism officials..@aidshealthcare "Syphilis Tsunami" ad references Hokusai's Great Wave, uses Oriental font. Good cause doesn't justify racist appropriation
— Todd Kushigemachi (@toddkush) June 26, 2017
Canady says AHF's ads are designed to be attention-grabbing and in-your-face. "Syphilis Tsunami" is Phase 2 of "Syphilis Explosion," he says.
Will the next ad stick to the natural disaster theme and warn of a syphilis tornado or syphilis earthquake?
"Stay tuned!" Canady says.
