As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to create unprecedented challenges to American life, the conversation around mental health has finally broken into the mainstream. To discuss what's changed and how to authentically reach specific communities to provide them the tools they need, Lisa Sherman, president and CEO of the Ad Council, spoke with partners on several recent mental health efforts. They include Gabrielle Shirdan, senior VP and group creative director at McCann; Alvin Bowles, VP of business engineering and partner solutions at Facebook; and John MacPhee, president and CEO of the JED Foundation.

As part of our ongoing COVID-19 Vaccine Education Initiative, director and producer Deborah Riley Draper recently worked with the Ad Council and JOY Collective to create a short-form documentary that highlights stories from descendants of the U.S. Public Health Services Syphilis Study at Tuskegee. Her film provides the opportunity for audiences to hear directly from the families impacted by the study and explores what current generations can learn from the experience to build confidence in public health within Black communities, especially as it relates to the COVID-19 vaccines.

The NCAA has long barred student athletes from being paid “to advertise, recommend or promote directly the sale or use of a commercial product or service of any kind.” That is, until June 21, 2021, when the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the NCAA cannot stop student athletes from pursuing name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals or other financial opportunities. This decision marks a decisive turning point in the organization’s 115-year history.

As marketers, we are also storytellers. And the story we are telling is incomplete.

South by Southwest will take place March 11-20, and the panel picker, which gives the public a chance to vote for their favorite potential panels, is now live. Check out these prospective panels submitted by the Ad Council and take a moment to vote for your favorites—voting is open through August 26.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the partnership between the Ad Council and Project Yellow Light, an organization that combats distracted driving through student-created advertising. Distracted driving is deadly; according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 26,004 people died in crashes involving a distracted driver between 2012-2019. Our latest Champion for Good, Project Yellow Light founder Julie Garner, talked to us about her very personal reason for founding the organization, what she’s learned along the way, and why this particular moment—when many are returning to daily commutes and road travel—is so important for illuminating the road ahead.

Smokey Bear turns 77 today, August 9th, 2021. His Ad Council Wildfire Prevention campaign in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters is the longest running public service campaign in history. Smokey and his iconic catchphrase “Only you can prevent wildfires” have become immediately recognizable in American culture. Let’s revisit Smokey’s start in 1944 and examine his journey as an ever-evolving advertising icon.

Shelley Zalis, founder and CEO of The Female Quotient, and Nicola Mendelsohn, vice president for EMEA at Facebook, came together to develop a first-of-its-kind tool that aims to increase diversity on panels and at conferences. Through providing organizations the means to assess onstage representation, the Speaker Equity Assessor tool provides event organizers with access to a comprehensive view, across a variety of intersectional demographic speaker data, of representation makeup. The tool translates provided data into visual insights, allowing users to make crucial connections, prioritize diversifying panels and focus on inclusivity.

On the heels of the IPCC’s latest report, new campaign responds to research finding that 60% of Americans are concerned about climate change, but only 14% talk about it often

Campaign taps creators Anna Wannquist, Donovan Beck, Jamie Grace, Maleah Whitten, Phillip Vu, Pink Sweat$, Sedona Prince, and Tessa Violet to encourage friends to start and continue conversations about mental health this September

With a Message of Hope and Unity, the Pope and Six Cardinals and Archbishops from North, Central and South America are Featured in a New PSA Reaching Global Audiences

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