In the five months since launching our historic COVID-19 Vaccine Education Initiative in partnership with the COVID Collaborative, we have made significant progress. Initially, about 30% of Americans said they would get vaccinated as soon as one was available to them, and about 20% said they would not agree to be vaccinated under any circumstances, leaving about 50% that were hesitant. This 50% is where we have focused our efforts, alongside more than 300 cross-sector partners.

July is BIPOC Mental Health Awareness Month, and what’s most important is to carry that awareness into every month of the year. Given the hardships our colleagues who identify as BIPOC have faced these past 18 months, it is necessary for individuals and organizations to educate themselves on how to best support them both in and out of the workplace.

Our latest Champion for Good is Gabrielle Shirdan, the SVP group creative director at McCann, who recently partnered with us to launch Sound It Out, a powerful new campaign that uses the power of music to help young people talk about their mental health. As part of the campaign, kids discussed what they were going through with some of today’s most exciting musicians, who then turned their feelings into songs.

Since the launch of our COVID-19 Vaccine Education Initiative, which includes more than 300 cross-sector partners and is the largest and most urgent communications effort in American history, we’ve deployed what we’ve called an air game and a ground game. What we mean is that we’re going big and broad with our messaging, in classic Ad Council fashion (the air game), and we’re also going deep into communities and finding new ways to engage with the people on the corner—the family doctors, the trusted pastors and the local pharmacists (the ground game). In other words, it’s not just about major tech companies, brands, government agencies, celebrities and influencers—it’s also about people like Cory Moskowitz at TransPromotion, a mobile advertising company.

Ahead of summer outdoor recreation season, our Discover the Forest campaign launched new PSAs encouraging parents and caregivers to take their families out to the forest to experience and reconnect with nature. The PSAs culminate in a singular ask: make the forest part of your family’s story.

June 19th is the anniversary of the emancipation of enslaved people in Galveston, Texas in 1865, which became a symbol of the end of slavery in America. This year, a 5,000-square-foot mural was unveiled at the Galveston location where Union General Gordon Granger read the orders that freed more than 250,000 people.

Since 2016, our Love Has No Labels campaign has promoted diversity, equity and inclusion of all people across race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age and ability. To celebrate Pride Month at a time when many people are still working remotely, the campaign has released a set of virtual backgrounds that will help you brighten up your next Zoom meeting—whether you’re a member of the LGBTQ+ community or an ally who wants to show your support.

On February 25th, the day the Ad Council and COVID Collaborative announced the platform for our vaccine education initiative, “It’s Up to You,” Stephen Colbert joked on The Late Show, “Okay, that’s a nice sentiment, but ‘it’s up to you’ is why we have this problem—we need everyone to get vaccinated.” He went on to suggest some absurd alternate slogans.

New campaign spotlights 211 helpline and encourages Americans to utilize the resource for assistance accessing federal, state and local aid

From Tragedy to Triumph, the New Short-Form Documentary Illustrates the Enduring Legacy of the Men Involved in the Study and its Impact on Public Health

High School and College Students Will Have Winning TV, Radio and Billboards Displayed Nationally

Ahead of Father’s Day, Latest PSAs Inspire Dads to Feel More Confident and Involved as Parents