The INFO Project Blog

A poster of “Tatiana y Johnny,” in vintage-1986 glory (faux pearls, perms, and nylon cinch belts) hangs in our office. Recently, while working on the forthcoming issue of INFO Reports, Entertainment-Education for Better Health, I learned who they are.

They’re young, they’re cute–Johnny Lozado got his start in Menudo with Ricky Martin–and they can they swing dance with dummies (see YouTube clip) and execute cartwheels (or not, in Johnny’s case). These two became role models for millions of Latin American viewers when their hit song Cuando estemos juntos (when we’re together) rose to the top of the pop charts, making its message for sexual responsibility appealing. According to the summary housed at the Communication Initiative ,

At the peak of its popularity, “Cuando estemos juntos” was played over 20 times per day on various Mexican radio and television stations.

Their second hit, Detende (Wait) made the top twenty songs in every country it was released.

The Communication for Young People Project–better known as “Tatiana & Johnny”– was an innovative application of the concept of targeting a mass media campaign to a wide geographic region rather than to one specific country. The campaign used music and related entertainment and promotional materials to reach a large regional audience of young adults with a message of sexual responsibility. As the project unfolded, it engaged the participation of a major producer of entertainment products in Mexico, youth guidance centers in 11 Latin American countries, and media representatives throughout the region.

The forthcoming issue of Population Reports on behavior change communication will highlight other program successes showing the wide-ranging, measurable impact such campaigns have had, and lay out proven processes, models and theories they have used.