Twilight and HPV?

Catching up on celebrity gossip is a favorite pastime, which should come as no secret if you know me well. As I was browsing the tabs of People.com this morning, I was reading an article about how Kristen Stewart is hoping that Bella (her character of The Twilight Saga) eventually becomes a vampire. Risky behavior for this human who is blinded by love but just as risky is not understanding HPV says Merck & Co.

The above banner ads were placed next to the article about the Twilight star, and like most banner ads that I don't pay attention to, at first I ignored it. However, the comparison between the vampire's sparkling skin and HPV caught me off guard so naturally I wanted to know more. It was unexpected and to be honest, when I saw the first set of copy I thought I was going to see a product like body lotion with shimmer or a new line of makeup inspired by the Saga to follow. I did not anticipate that spokespeople for promoting the awareness of HPV would be jumping on the Twilight train.

Twilight has proven to be an incredible phenomenon among tweens, teens and young adults soon after it launched the first movie about a year ago. Now, with the second movie New Moon set to open in late November, hype this crazy hasn't been around since the days of Harry Potter. There have been thousands of products that have taken advantage of co-branding with Twilight for the attention of these fanatical consumers including candy, clothes, jewelry, even cars. In the movie, Volvo is the car of choice for the Cullen family of vampires (the hot ones) and now the brand is launching a new campaign in the midst of the New Moon promotions (I bet you'd be the coolest Mom on the block with a new Volvo just like Edward's...). Clothes and cars makes sense from a co-branding standpoint here, but who would have thought that this movie would be an open door to promote awareness of a sexually transmitted disease?

While the banner ads do not have a direct correlation with the Twilight brand per se, it is clear that it is purposefully poised to appear with Twilight content, and the whole shimmer thing...well that is a sign of America's favorite vampires in the movie. Just as the hype for these movies have grown, so has the increased awareness surrounding HPV and the link to cervical cancer. In reality, this is the perfect age group to start educating. When they say that knowledge is power, they aren't joking. The younger female audience of the Twilight Saga can do nothing but benefit from learning the facts about HPV, and even for the older female audience, they can't loose either by educating themselves with the facts of this disease. While this was just a simple banner ad, it caught my own attention and I surpassed my tween years awhile ago. The placement of this ad is both clever and purposeful, and it has taken advantage of a trendy brand without being so obvious. While HPV isn't "cool" or "hip," it is reality for a growing number of young women in this country. By messaging along side a big trend like Twilight it stands a chance to become as well known.

Like the hype that surrounds Twilight, hopefully chatter about HPV will serve to get girls talking...

To learn more about HPV go to www.hpv.com.