The Global Fund has announced it is directing a new advertising campaign in England, Italy and Germany in order to raise public awareness and support for global AIDS programs. While such a program is laudable, it seems questionable that the Global Fund itself would direct the effort (particularly since past advertising campaigns supported by the Global Fund have lingered, such as the "Investing in our Future" effort with VH1). The Global Fund, whose motto is "Raise it, Spend it, Prove it", has assiduously focused on core competencies in the past. It isn't obvious that ad campaigns represent a core competency.

Advertising and lobbying groups are experts in campaigns of this sort. Today's Washington Post story by Stephen Weissman describes a notional campaign for Darfur -- a model which lends itself comfortably to global AIDS as well.