Ad Council

Ad Council

Company type	Public
Industry	Public Service Announcements
Founded	1941
Headquarters	Washington, D.C., United States
Revenue	40,508,462 United States dollar (2011)
Total assets	31,838,838 United States dollar (2011)
Website	adcouncil.org

The Advertising Council, mostly called the Ad Council, is an American non-profit organization that creates public service announcements on behalf of sponsors, including non-profit organizations and the United States government.

The Advertising Council does not make public service advertisements for itself but it acts as a creator of them for others. The Advertising Council allows sponsor organizations to create advertising that are on social issues as well.

History

The Advertising Council was created in 1941, and shortly after, in February 1942, it was registered as The War Advertising Council for the purpose of being in the advertising industry in support of the Second World War effort. Early ads tried to tell people about the purchase of war bonds and saving of war things.

After the Second World War, the War Advertising Council changed its name to the Advertising Council and shifted its focus to peacetime ads. In 1945, the Ad Council began working with the National Safety Council.

Famous campaigns

• "Crying Indian" anti-pollution ad for Keep America Beautiful, was created in 1973 and won two Clio Awards
• United Negro College Fund, with its slogan "A mind is a terrible thing to waste", was created in 1972
• McGruff ad with its slogan "Take a bite out of crime" for the National Crime Prevention Council (along with the U.S. Department of Justice), was created in 1978
• "Friends don't let friends drive drunk" ad for the U.S. Department of Transportation until 2005
• Smokey Bear campaign was created in 1944 to tell Americans about the harm wildfires could cause the war effort, and the danger that the Japanese might start forest fires on the West Coast of the United States. It was 1947 when the Smokey Bear phrase was made: "Remember...only YOU can prevent forest fires!"
• Vince and Larry, the Crash Test Dummies (1985–1999)
• "I am an American" (2001-present) -- an ad launched in wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack about the people in America. The ad has people of many people looking in the camera and simply saying, "I am an American."
• Energy Hog

Organizations done by the Ad Council

• Autism Speaks
• Give Kids The World Village
• Keep America Beautiful
• National Crime Prevention Council
• United Negro College Fund
• United States Department of Agriculture
• United States Department of Transportation
• WIC

Notes and references

• Robert Jackall and Janice M. Hirota, The Image Makers: Advertising, Public Relations, and the Ethos of Advocacy (University of Chicago, 2000). ISBN 0-226-38916-2 (paperback: ISBN 0-226-38917-0)

Other websites

• The Advertising Council official website
• Advertising Council archives Archived 2005-03-01 at the Wayback Machine
• Outdoor Advertising Association of America homepage
• Advertising Council Retrospective Archived 2007-02-02 at the Wayback Machine on aef.com
• Ad Council's YouTube listing
• Guide to collections containing information on the Advertising Council at the Eisenhower Presidential Library Archived 2009-01-14 at the Wayback Machine