BetaHCF Case Studies Library is in beta. We're still adding campaigns and fixing things.
HCF Case Studies Library

← All campaigns · Open in the library

roughdraftatlanta.com

Testing Makes Us Stronger

CDC HIV testing campaign for Black gay and bisexual men aged 18-44, launched November 2011 under Act Against AIDS as the first federal campaign focused on gay and bisexual men. Positive, empowering messages designed with Black gay men; ran in six cities through September 2015.

Years
2011–2015
Country
United States
Topic
HIV/STI
Asks people to
Seek helpStart
Strategy
Self efficacySocial norms
Channel
OutdoorPrintSocial (paid)
Audience
AdultsYoung adults
Black gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, 18-44, in Atlanta, Baltimore, Houston, New York, Oakland and Washington, DC.

Evidence

Quasi-experimentalPositive

Interrupted time series in six campaign cities, Jan 2011-Dec 2014: HIV testing events among Black MSM had been falling by ~35 tests/month in the 11 months before launch; after launch the trend reversed to an increase of >6 tests/month (p=.002). No comparison group.

Sponsor (who paid)

Credits (who made it)

Related campaigns

Sources

  1. Boudewyns V et al. An Interrupted Time Series Evaluation of the Testing Makes Us Stronger HIV Campaign for Black Gay and Bisexual Men in the United States. J Health Commun 2018;23(10-11):865-873 evaluation · 2018 · DOI 10.1080/10810730.2018.1528318 · PMID 30307784
  2. CDC's Testing Makes Us Stronger: first federal campaign focused on gay men (Rough Draft Atlanta) news · 2011
  3. 2011 NCHHSTP Newsroom Archive sponsor
  4. Testing Makes Us Stronger (The Compass for SBC) archive

Research notes

Credits checked 2026-10-22 against fetched pages: RTI International (PubMed record of the 2018 interrupted time series evaluation, authors at RTI's Center for Communication Science). Corrected 2026-10-22: source moved from the DOI link (publisher blocks fetching) to PubMed. A 2020 Frontiers in Communication critique (Hawkins) questions the campaign's reception among Black MSM; consider adding. Meta Ad Library / Google Ads Transparency Center: search advertiser 'Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)' (Meta page 'CDC'). Procurement pass 2026-10-22: consistent with the RTI credit, CDC orders to RTI for 'Health marketing services for the CDC Act Against AIDS campaign' run 2011-2015 (e.g. HHSD2002007200160022, 2011-2014, USD 2.69M); the records do not name Testing Makes Us Stronger.

Record cases/cdc-testing-makes-us-stronger.json, updated 2026-10-22· Link to this campaign