AIDS is slipping from the American consciousness, just as numbing statistics underscore the breadth of its wrath in the developing world. Soon, a nationwide advertising campaign will try to combat the growing apathy.

The proportion of Americans who know there is no cure for AIDS tumbled 18 percent in the last 18 months -- from 89 to 71 percent. In the same period, the proportion of people who wrongly believe there is a cure has increased, from 8 percent to 15 percent, according to a national survey done by the Washington Post, the Henry J. Kaiser Foundation and Harvard University.

Developed by the Leo Burnett USA advertising agency for the nonprofit Advertising Council, the campaign will put a face on one of the epidemic's more poignant problems: the swelling ranks of orphans. Through a two-minute television spot, a series of vignettes will show children fending for themselves in various life situations.

"They try to mimic their parents, they try to cook and to wash and to stay clean, but they are 5 years of age," said Mark Tutussel, vice chair and deputy chief creative officer of Leo Burnett USA of Chicago. "There's a certain amount of apathy and indifference to the problem, and we wanted, in the most powerful way, to make more people aware of the problem," he said.

"Particularly since 9/11, we have been focusing on what goes on within our borders," said Peggy Conlon, president and CEO of the Advertising Council. "We do not have a reputation for being informed about global issues, and as a result, the enormity of the AIDS crisis is not on the radar screen of many American people," she said.

The number of children orphaned by AIDS, largely in the developing world, will grow from 14 million to 25 million by the end of the decade.

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