The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID), furthering its goal of public education, helped judge a national public service announcement (PSA) contest about genital herpes in June 1996.

William J. Martone, MD, NFID's Senior Executive Director, was one of the expert panelists who judged the 10 finalists. Finalists were selected from more than 80 entries from college students across the country. The purpose of the contest was to develop a television PSA geared toward adults ages 18-34 that communicated health messages about genital herpes, a common sexually transmitted disease affecting more than 31 million Americans.

"It is very important to involve the young people, those most at risk for this disease, in prevention activities," said Dr. Martone. "The contest was an excellent medium."

From the finalists, the production of "Matches" was the clear favorite of the eight judges. Written, produced, and directed by Janny C. Yang, an advertising design major at the Academy of Art College, San Francisco, CA, the production creatively used matches that flare-up, then burn out, to describe the recurring signs and symptoms of herpes outbreaks. The PSA then went on to encourage people to seek diagnosis and treatment of the disease.

"While 'Matches' clearly demonstrates creative and technical achievement, the messages regarding genital herpes were clear, accurate, and very important," said nationally syndicated radio host and author, Judy Kuriansky, another contest judge. "When aired, this PSA should really get people talking about sexual health and herpes; more importantly, it should motivate people to do something if they think they're at risk," she added.

As the grand prize winner, Ms. Yang will receive a $10,000 scholarship and will co-produce a final broadcast version of her winning entry with a professional production company in New York City. The final PSA will be distributed to television stations nationally this fall.

Ms. Yang said, "I wanted to make this PSA because it gave me a real chance to practice what I've learned about mass communications. But I also hope that 'Matches' will help let people know that herpes can be managed--it's just a matter of getting the facts."

Genital herpes is caused by the Herpes simplex virus and is typically transmitted through sex, both oral and genital. It also can be spread through skin-to-skin contact with an infected area during initial and recurrent outbreaks of the disease. Signs and symptoms of genital herpes outbreaks may include pain, itching, fever, chills, fatigue, and then swelling or redness followed by blister-like sores in the genital area.

Judges of the contest also selected two runners-up: "The Talk" and "Janet in Love." "The Talk," created by the team of Chris Johnson and Bjorn Book-Larsson at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, stresses the importance of knowing your sexual partner. "Janet in Love" was created by Jason Wishnow, a senior at Stanford University, and chronicles a young couple dealing with genital herpes as an unexpected part of their romance. Runners-up received a $3,000 scholarship.

"All of the students who participated in this contest are to be commended, not only for their film-making abilities, but also for their role in communicating an important health message," said Charles Hartman, EdD, a contest judge and Executive Director of the American College Health Association, which co-sponsored the contest with Glaxo Wellcome Inc. "They took on a challenging assignment and came up with a range of creative ideas that should really help in educating people about herpes," he added. In addition to Dr. Martone, Dr. Kuriansky, and Dr. Hartman, contest judges included Peggy Clarke, President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Social Health Association; Jessica Vitkus Weeks, Producer of News and Specials, MTV; Michael Reitano, MD, Director of the Herpes Advice Center in New York City; David Wojdyla, Executive Creative Director and Managing Partner of Bozell Worldwide Advertising; and Steve Koren, Writer for "Saturday Night Live."

The New York public relations firm, Cooney/Waters Group, organized the contest. The award ceremony was held at the New York Tribeca Grill and Screening Room and was hosted by Norm McDonald, the popular "Weekend Update" anchor from "Saturday Night Live."