The Ad Council has
endeavored to improve the lives of all Americans since first
creating the category of public service advertising in 1942. From
our earliest efforts including "Loose Lips Sink Ships"
to the more recent "I am an American," Ad Council PSAs
have been raising awareness, inspiring action and saving lives for
more than 60 years.
Based on our long history
of effecting positive change, it's fair to say that Ad Council
campaigns have inspired several generations of Americans. Our
ultimate goal is to ensure that future generations will reap the
benefits of our efforts to date, and continue to be inspired by
our public service campaigns in the future.
The Ad Council is a
private, non-profit organization that marshals volunteer talent
from the advertising and communications industries, the facilities
of the media, and the resources of the business and non-profit
communities to deliver critical messages to the American public.
The Ad Council produces, distributes and promotes thousands of
public service campaigns on behalf of non-profit organizations and
government agencies in issue areas such as improving the quality
of life for children, preventative health, education, community
well being, environmental preservation and strengthening families.
A review of the Ad
Council's campaign dockets through the years demonstrates the
organization's commitment to address the most pressing social
issues of the day. To that end, the Ad Council campaign docket is
adjusted to mirror changes in our society. However, although the
docket changes, the organization's commitment to the nation and to
its people remains clear and constant.
Ad Council icons and
slogans are woven into the very fabric of American culture --
Smokey Bear's "Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires", The
Crash Test Dummies: "You Could Learn A lot from a
Dummy", McGruff the Crime Dog's: "Take A Bite Out of
Crime", and of course, "A Mind is a Terrible Thing To
Waste", and "Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk"
- just to name a few.
Although most Americans can
assuredly recite Ad Council slogans, Ad Council PSAs are not just
memorized. They mobilize. The results of our campaigns testify to
the power of the Ad Council's messages to make lasting and
positive social change.
-
Applications for Big
Brothers Big Sisters mentors soared from 90,000 a year to
620,000 in nine months, a seven-fold increase in the number of
inquiries to Big Brothers/Big Sisters agencies.
-
Ready.gov received more than 18 million
unique visitors within the first ten months of the launch of
the Department
of Homeland Security's preparedness campaign.
-
68% of Americans say that they have
personally stopped someone who had been drinking from driving.
The old saying "One more for the Road," has been
replaced with "Friends
Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk."
-
Safety belt usage is up from 14% to 79%
since our Safety
Belt campaign launched in 1985 - saving an estimated
85,000 lives, and $3.2 billion in costs to society.
-
Since 1972, The
United Negro College Fund campaign has helped the
organization raise more than $2.2 billion to graduate 350,000
minority students from college with the help of the "A
Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste" slogan.
-
6,000 Children were paired with a mentor in
just the first 18 months of our mentoring campaign.
-
Destruction of our forests by wildfires has
been reduced from 22 million acres to less than 8.4 million
acres per year, since our Forest
Fire Prevention campaign began.
-
The amount of total waste recycled
increased 24.4% from 1995 to 2000, and 385.4% from the 1980s
after the launch of the Environmental
Defense campaign.
Results such as these
inspire the Ad Council to continue the work of its founders and
rouse the passion of its successors to ensure that future
generations of Americans will flourish from the positive changes
the Ad Council has initiated.
The Advertising Council, Inc.
261 Madison Avenue, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Phone: (212) 922-1500
Fax: (212) 922-1676
