“Vencer el Miedo”: Entertainment that Changed Behavior at Scale

Vencer el Miedo (“Overcome the Fear”) was a 47-episode telenovela co-produced by PMC and Grupo Televisa that aired in Mexico from January to March 2020. It drew 3.5 million nightly viewers, captured the highest viewership in its timeslot, and ranked among the top three most-watched programs for viewers ages 13 to 21. It went on to win four TVyNovelas awards, including best first actress for Arcelia Ramírez, who dedicated her win to women breaking the silence on abusive relationships.

But the show’s most significant achievement wasn’t the ratings. It was the behavior change.

The problem

PMC’s formative research identified a crisis: in Mexico, one in five pregnant women between 2009 and 2014 were 19 or younger. Contraceptive use during first sexual encounters was low. And 44 percent of abortions in that period were among women ages 15 to 19. The data pointed to a massive gap in reproductive health knowledge and parent-child communication about sexuality.

The partnership

PMC partnered with Grupo Televisa — the largest mass media company in the Spanish-speaking world — to develop a show that would address adolescent reproductive health, teen pregnancy, and gender-based violence through compelling, commercially viable entertainment. This partnership was rooted in a shared legacy: the Sabido methodology that underpinned PMC’s early approach was originally developed at Televisa by Miguel Sabido. PMC conducted formative research, trained the creative team, and advised on storylines. Televisa’s production team, led by showrunner Rosy Ocampo, created a drama that audiences watched because they loved it — not because it was good for them.

The show

Vencer el Miedo followed four women of different generations navigating teen pregnancy, domestic violence, gender inequality, and reproductive health decisions. The characters were complex; the storylines were dramatic. More than 15 expert organizations — including MEXFAM (Mexico’s Planned Parenthood affiliate) and the United Nations Population Fund — advised on content and launched accompanying campaigns.

OrientaSEX, a telephone and WhatsApp hotline operated by professional counselors from MEXFAM, was promoted on-screen after every episode. The hotline exceeded its target by nearly 500 percent, receiving a weekly average of 2,868 calls. After four weeks on air, it had delivered more than 10,000 services, scheduled 46 direct-care appointments at MEXFAM clinics, and provided 754 reproductive health consultations. The majority of callers found the hotline through the show.

Impact

Peer-reviewed research published in BMC Public Health found that adolescent viewers were significantly more likely than non-viewers to seek information about contraception, to use contraception other than condoms, and to use dual contraception. Among parents, viewers were significantly more likely to have talked with their adolescent children about sexual relations, contraceptive methods, condoms, and abstinence. Sixty-two percent of parent viewers talked to their adolescent children about sex, compared with 44 percent of non-viewers.

A second study, published in Health Communication, linked specific narrative elements in the show to real-world behavior: when the storyline featured transitional characters modeling reproductive health decisions, calls to the OrientaSEX hotline increased. Female, partnered, and younger viewers showed the strongest response.

Reach

Beyond Mexico, Vencer el Miedo broadcast in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic, and aired on Univision in the United States, where it drew 400,000 nightly viewers and was covered by People en Español and the Los Angeles Times. Social media accounts for the show reached over 42 million users, including 31.6 million video views on Facebook.

A model for PMC’s partnership approach

Vencer el Miedo demonstrated what PMC’s entertainment partnership model looks like at scale: rigorous formative research informing creative development, a major studio partner producing commercially successful content, expert organizations providing health resources connected to the narrative, and PMC rigorous evaluation contributing to the field via peer-reviewed publications that share the measurable impact. It remains a clear example in the field of evidence-based entertainment driving behavior change at a national level.