The pharmaceutical industry has long understood that awareness campaigns work best when they appear to be selling nothing at all — or, more precisely, when they are selling the category while leaving the brand name to be discovered later, perhaps in a doctor's office.

ViiV Healthcare, the GSK unit that focuses exclusively on HIV and AIDS treatments, is taking that approach with a new campaign called "PrEP Wise," which stars Michelle Visage, the permanent judge on "RuPaul's Drag Race" and its various spinoffs. The campaign, which began running on June 1 to coincide with Pride Month, aims to educate consumers that pre-exposure prophylaxis treatments come in different forms — including long-lasting injections — without ever mentioning that ViiV happens to manufacture one of those injections.

(The injection in question, Apretude, was introduced in early 2022 as the first bimonthly injectable PrEP option. It now has company: Gilead Sciences recently began promoting Yeztugo, a twice-yearly injection, with a campaign from Digitas.)

"Anytime you have more competitors entering the market, it helps raise awareness, which is a good thing," said Robin Gaitens, ViiV's director of enterprise communications. The remark has the quality of something a pharmaceutical executive might say while genuinely meaning it.

The campaign, created by Jacques New York with media buying handled by Publicis, is running on streaming and cable outlets including Bravo, Hulu, Logo, Paramount+ and Peacock. Five television spots are planned, two of which have already appeared. In one, Ms. Visage holds court in a nightclub; in another, she reclines poolside with three men who bear a certain resemblance to one another.

Both spots end with Ms. Visage advising viewers to "get PrEP Wise" and consult their doctors — a phrase that manages to sound like both public health guidance and a gentle suggestion to do one's homework before a quiz.

The underlying math remains stubborn: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about two million Americans could benefit from PrEP, but only about a quarter of them are using it. ViiV's campaign is, in that sense, an attempt to expand the market before worrying too much about market share.

Which is one way to run a business, and not the worst one.

Original story published in MediaPost: "'Get PrEP Wise' Via 'Drag Race''s Michelle Visage In ViiV HIV Prevention Campaign"