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Dungy the posterboy for HIV testing??
Posted: Jan 22, 2008 in Things to do
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Does it strike anybody else as odd that a self-proclaimed devoutly Christian man who has been married for years and has grown children would be the posterboy for an AIDS/HIV campaign?
Riding the bus recently, I've seen a poster (attaching the pic, which is horrible, but better than nothing) that shows a picture of Colts head coach Tony Dungy standing on a football field in his Colts polo and coaching headset, with the words "Tackle your fears" in big, bold white letters. Underneath, it reads "Get tested for HIV" and lists some other statistics, etc.
I understand the football analogy. But I find it kind of disturbing that Dungy was the one chosen to be pictured in this ad. Does anyone else find this pairing to be weird at all? Just seems like a mismatch.
I realize that using "celebrities" to endorse your message can be extremely effective, but this one just isn't quite right!
I have seen those ads. It is strange, especially given his stance on the gay community and the association a lot of the more devout Christian folk have relating AIDS to the gay community. Maybe he doesn't share that particular thought, but it seems unlikely to me.
By the way, Bob Kravitz's column about Dungy's return is quite a different take than I expected. He actually raises a good point, I think.
The talkback posters (as always with Kravitz) were pretty harsh in their backlash, but personally I think it's part of his public persona, between his book that talks about the importance of family and his "All Pro Dads" seminar thing.
Check Kravitz's column here