The Story of the Ad Council
The idea for the Ad Council was born in November 1941. Days later, with the entry of the U.S. into World War II, we were christened The War Advertising Council and soon created a campaign to sell War Bonds. More than sixty years and hundreds of campaigns later, the Ad Council remains America's leading producer of public service communications.
Read through the major events of our history on this page.
| 1941 | James Webb Young makes "What action can be taken?" speech, which spurs formation of an advertising council |
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| 1942 | Group is christened "War Advertising Council". |
| 1942 - 1945 | "Women in War Jobs," "Buy War Bonds" and "Loose Lips" campaigns created
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| 1944 |
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| 1945 | President Roosevelt urges Ad Council to continue its work in peacetime; Ad Council begins work with National Safety Council |
| 1946 | Campaigns focus on atomic weapons, world trade, religious tolerance |
| 1947 | Theodore Repplier becomes Ad Council president |
| 1950 | Eleanor Roosevelt and General Eisenhower appear in anti-communism ads. Korea conflict restarts war bond campaign
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| 1953 | Ad Council sponsors broadcast of CARE |
| 1957 | Fund-raising for Red Cross campaigns
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| 1958 | Campaign for Salk polio vaccine begins
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| 1961 | Peace Corps launches 30-year campaign, "The Toughest Job You'll Ever Love" |
| 1966 | Robert Keim succeeds Theodore Repplier as Ad Council president |
| 1972 | UNCF launches "A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste" campaign
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| 1973 | "Crying Indian" wins two Clio awards |
| 1978 | McGruff the crime dog takes first bite out of crime |
| 1981 | Drug abuse and alcoholism campaigns begin |
| 1982 | Nancy Reagan asks America to "Just Say No" |
| 1985 | Vince & Larry, the crash-test dummies, encourage Americans to buckle up
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| 1987 | Ruth Wooden succeeds Robert Keim as Ad Council president |
| 1988 | First AIDS campaign begins
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| 1995 | Ad Council launches Commitment 2000 program addressing children's issues |
| 1999 | Peggy Conlon succeeds Ruth Wooden as Ad Council president |
| 2000 | Ad Council selected to manage groundbreaking $1 billion ONDCP Media Match Program |
| Sept. 2001 | Industry elects Ad Council to lead the way in "Campaign for Freedom" |
| 2002 | Ad Council marks 60th anniversary of making a difference through public service advertising |
| 2005 | Addressing the obesity crisis confronting the nation and its children, Ad Council launches its Coalition for Healthy Children.
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| 2007-2008 | Donated media reaches $2 billion mark. |
| 2009 | Utilizing the latest social media tools, Ad Council joins Twitter, complementing already established presences on Facebook and YouTube. |
| 2010 | The Ad Council receives an Emmy Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences |
| 2010 | Jimmy Fallon hosts the Ad Council’s 57th Annual Public Service AwardDinner which raises an unprecedented $2.8 million dollars. |
| 2011 | Ad Council rereleases “I Am an American” PSA in honor of the 10th anniversary of 9/11 
FWD campaign for the Horn of Africa reaches 15 million in one day on Twitter alone |
| 2012 | Ad Council celebrates 70th birthday |