J&J Confide home HIV test kit national television advertising kicks off Sept. 11.

J&J CONFIDE HOME HIV TEST NATIONAL TV AD CAMPAIGN began Sept. 11 on Fox television network's Beverly Hills, 90210. Confide is currently shipping to drug chains including Eckerd, Kroger, PathMark, PharMor, RiteAid, Thrifty and Thrifty Payless. The kits are scheduled to be introduced in mass merchandisers including Wal-Mart, Kmart and Walgreen's in the near future.

Three 30-second television spots, tagged "It's time to know," were developed for Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Direct Access Diagnostics by New York-based McCann-Erickson agency. The ads, which announce Confide's availability in pharmacies, follow limited television advertising on cable networks that provided a toll-free number through which the tests could be ordered. Confide also is available outside the U.S. in the Virgin Islands, Guam and San Juan, according to J&J.

The initial network ad, which features a young woman talking about her experience with the Confide test, resonated with the storyline of the Beverly Hills, 90210 episode during which it aired.

In the ad, the spokeswoman admits that she was "a little nervous" before she took the test, but says, "I feel a lot better now that I know." Similarly, during the television show, a young female character whose medical and sexual history suggest that she is at relatively low risk of having contracted HIV is urged by her doctor to be "tested regularly" so that she "won't have to be afraid." The episode chronicles her decision to have the test, her nervousness as she waits for the results and her relief when she learns that she is HIV-negative.

The second ad in the series is similar, but highlights the experience of a young man who uses the Confide test. The spot opens with the letter "I" in the center of the screen, and the man's voice declares, "I think some things are private." Two more letters appear on the screen to form "HIV," and he adds, "An HIV test is one of them." Over a close-up of the product packaging, he says, "That's why I got Confide."

The man explains that Confide is "the new test you take at home." Confide's sample collection card is shown, and he continues: "You put three drops of blood on a special card and send it to Confide." Over the super "precise, over 99% accurate," he assures the viewer that Confide uses "the same exact test doctors and hospitals use."

"And," the man says, shown next to his telephone, "it's totally anonymous. You never use your name, just a code number." The word "counseling" appears on the screen, and he says, "When you call for your results, there are professional counselors to talk to. They can help you." The man is shown looking relaxed and relieved and we hear his voice saying, "That was important to me."

The spot closes with the announcer voice over, "Introducing the first HIV test you can take at home" and a shot of the Confide box. Over a super reading, "Confide. It's time to know. Now available at pharmacies," the announcer reiterates: "Confide. It's time to know."

A third ad focuses on the telephone counseling that is part of the Confide home testing system. "I am an HIV counselor," a woman explains. "I'm also a licensed clinical social worker. I've been working with HIV and AIDS for years...When you call Confide, I am the person that is on the other end of the line. Myself, along with other counselors, are there to help," she says. "I believe that where there is knowledge, there is hope."

The ad, like the others, begins with an "I" that becomes "HIV," and closes with the tagline: "Confide. It's time to know."

Print ads for Confide, also tagged "It's time to know," will begin running in national magazines such as Time and People in October.

The print campaign stresses that the test is "easy to use," anonymous, and "99% accurate." Ads in the series bear the headings: "I want to know. It's my life"; "I knew it was an important thing to do"; and "I think some things are private. An HIV test is one of them." Print ads already have appeared in Texas and Florida, which served as test markets for Confide.

Spanish versions of the print ads will run in Spanish-language publications. In addition, informational and instructional materials in Confide packaging are printed in both English and Spanish, and J&J has established Spanish-language telephone helplines and result lines for Confide.

Confide packaging contains a bilingual HIV/AIDS fact booklet by Former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, MD, a bilingual instruction booklet, two disposable lancets, an antiseptic wipe, two Band-Aids, a test card, a mailer and lancet disposal containers.

Home Access and Home Access Express HIV test kits, which followed Confide to market, have been available at Rite Aid locations in 21 Eastern states since late August, according to Hoffman, Ill.-based manufacturer Home Access Health ("The Tan Sheet" Sept. 2, In Brief).

New York Rite Aid stores do not yet carry Home Access tests, due to delays related to the state's clinical testing requirements ("The Tan Sheet" Aug. 26, p. 17). Home Access Health submitted an Aug. 16 request to FDA that the agency's premarket approval of home HIV tests pre-empt state law restricting patient self-testing. However, having learned that Confide is being marketed in New York, Home Access says it will begin shipping its tests to Rite Aid outlets in that state without waiting for an official decision from FDA.

Home Access promotions began with a three-week cycle of cable television advertising; network television and radio spots are airing now. Print ads in magazines and newspaper supplements will kick off in October. Separate print ads geared toward a gay audience will run in gay publications.