July 2025 will mark the 40 anniversary of actor Rock Hudson becoming the first American celebrity to come out as HIV/AIDS positive. Over in Spain, though, no public figure has ever done so, leading to "The HInVisible Celebrity," an advocacy campaign from GSK's ViiV Healthcare.
ViiV is the only pharma firm to focus solely on HIV/AIDS.
The campaign stars The HInsVisible Celebrity himself, who sports a pixilated head in a 90-second video, shown here in an English-language version, and in other posts from his Instagram account.
ViiV's intention is to encourage "a real Spanish celebrity to step forward and put his/her actual face to the campaign," creative agency Señora Rushmore tells Marketing Daily.
When will the campaign end? "When a real Spanish celebrity publicly reveals they have HIV," says the agency, adding, " but... will that really happen?"
Indeed, Señora Rushmore, continues, "the fact that not a single celebrity with HIV comes forward and the 'main goal of the campaign' is not achieved also underscores the very reason we created it: the stigma is still there, and we need to eliminate it."
Beyond that main goal, the agency says that The HInsVisible Celebrity is designed "to spark societal reflection and challenge the widespread stigma that prevents anyone, including public figures, from openly discussing their HIV status."
That stigma is well-reflected in the video, produced by Central Films, in which The HInsVisible Celebrity gives himself an introspective pep-talk ahead of a planned announcement of his status to the Spanish public. Even as he recognizes that such a declaration could change Spain's cultural landscape - and the country's HIV-positive population - for the better, he wonders what will become of his career and his reputation in general as the screen shows a possible aftermath of front-page press coverage and social media memes. "But I can't take it anymore - this fear of being rejected, judged," he says. "The first one always pays the price, but it opens the way."
In the end, The HInsVisible Celebrity is too scared to come out, but a graphic reads, "A role model would change everything."
The video was directed by Rodrigo García Sáiz, whose previous work has included Kohl's 20220 "Give With All Your Heart" holiday campaign.
Costume designer Pepo Ruíz Dorado did The HInsVisible Celebrity's facial effects by manual 3D modeling, done pixel by pixel.