The Pope thanks you for not driving buzzed

Holiday safe-driving PSA season is in full throttle. First, we had that great ad from New Mexico. Now, here's a spot from Mullen for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Ad Council. It shows a gal next door, Rachel, receiving honors from the Pope and the Dalai Lama for not driving buzzed. (Arnold Schwarzenegger is in the 30-second version, though standing so close to him seems more like a punishment to me.) In the big picture, do we really want to be grandiosely rewarding folks for not driving while intoxicated—i.e., for not behaving like selfish assholes? Maybe people should refrain from driving buzzed because, I dunno, it's the right think to do? Also, this high-powered talent might be put to better use. Seeing the Terminator all remorseful after getting drunk and mowing down several of the world's top spiritual leaders? Now that would be a PSA!

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on December 18, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (2)
Filed under Ad Council, Gianatasio, Mullen, PSAs, Road safety

VIDEO: Tina Fey celebrates Ad Council work

Tina Fey emceed the Ad Council's annual dinner last Wednesday. Here's a video of her amusing opening remarks, in which she bemoans NBC's fourth-place ratings ("Actually, we're in ninth place if you count the couple of radio stations that are ahead of us right now"), recalls some classic PSAs from her youth, and even brings back her Sarah Palin impression. "They recently made a porn movie about Sarah Palin," she says at one point, "and then the same porn actress, Lisa Ann, played me in a parody of 30 Rock. ... Weirdly, of the three of us, Lisa Ann knows the most about foreign policy. But I know the most about threeways."

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on November 23, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under Ad Council, Nudd

PSAs try to drag kids to the Great Outdoors

The U.S. Forest Service, the Ad Council and Euro RSCG Tonic have created a PSA campaign designed to reconnect tweens with nature, even though most of them would probably prefer to kick back in Habbo or fire up the Xbox. This commercial shows why the latter might be the safer option, as the kids scream and dash through the woods while reptiles and bugs attack. Well, that's my interpretation. If a lizard climbed onto my back (this happens in the ad), I'd be screaming like a banshee. It looks like an iguana, or maybe an alligator. They thirst for human flesh! The voiceover and tagline describe the forest as the place "Where the other you lives." That's only true if the other you is Sasquatch. The campaign breaks on Saturday, which is National Get Outdoors Day. I'll be sure to stay inside.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on June 10, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1)
Filed under Ad Council, Euro RSCG Tonic, Gianatasio, PSAs

PSAs battle drunk driving with grim humor

Mullen and the Ad Council successfully walk a fine line in these anti-drunk-driving spots. Using humor to draw attention to such a charged issue can be tricky, and in the process it's all too easy to stagger drunkenly and fall face-first to the pavement ... yadda, yadda ... you complete the metaphor. These ads, thankfully, mix the portions just right. The sight of severely injured accident victims popping up and chatting as if nothing's wrong, as the drivers tearfully claim they were "just buzzed," helps mitigate the tragic-PSA cliche factor and heighten viewer interest. The reprise of the hyper-realistic serious theme at the close of the spots seems unforced, logical and not at all preachy. Ultimately, the dream-like humorous interludes—off point and disingenuous, just like the drivers' claims that they weren't really that drunk—drive the nightmare quality of the scenarios.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on November 26, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (3)
Filed under Ad Council, Alcohol, Gianatasio, Mullen, PSAs

Adopted teens want their laundry just right

This Ad Council spot by Kirshenbaum Bond + Partners, promoting adoption, does well to avoid the kind of too-cute-for-words approach (adorable kids with perfect teeth) or gut-wrenching guilt trips (adorable kids with perfect teeth menaced by Osama bin Laden) often adopted (so to speak) by such appeals. That said, it also helps explain why teens are difficult to place with adoptive families. That skinny dude whines about the way Dad does laundry and brings over all his dumb jock friends to hang out on the sofa. He'll probably want an iPhone for Christmas. Still, it could be worse. If he didn't get adopted, he might even start writing for an advertising blog! So visit AdoptUsKids.org to learn about teens who "would love to put up with you." Let's face it, you're not such a prize yourself.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on November 17, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (1)
Filed under Ad Council, Gianatasio, Kirshenbaum Bond, PSAs

BBDO reaches out to Iraq, Afghanistan vets

BBDO New York and the Ad Council have created a powerful new campaign for the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. The ads aim to address the mental-health consequences of combat, as the 1.7 million men and women who have served, or are currently serving, in Iraq and Afghanistan are facing an increased risk of mental-health issues. See a TV spot and three print ads here. The campaign directs veterans to CommunityofVeterans.org, the first and only social networking site exclusively for Iraq and Afghanistan vets.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on November 12, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under Ad Council, BBDO, Military, Nudd, PSAs

No more chimps and gorillas in advertising?

Prodded by the well-meaning folks at PETA, the Ad Council says it no longer supports the use of great apes in ads (including chimpanzees and gorillas) because the creatures are often treated badly. PETA vows that it will be "following up with the CEOs of all the top U.S. ad agencies that sit on the Ad Council's executive board, requesting that they follow suit." Many execs will probably roll their eyes and crack wise ("But most of my creatives are monkeys. Ha ha ha!") when that call comes through. But frankly, PETA's doing all of us a favor. Apes are just intelligent enough to unionize one day and bring commercial production grinding to a halt. And their desire to subjugate humankind in a post-apocalyptic world has been well documented, so why piss them off ahead of time? Via Adrants.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on November 10, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (4)
Filed under Ad Council, Gianatasio, PETA

Ads straighten out teens who say 'so gay'

A new campaign from the Ad Council and Arnold New York hopes to eradicate the popular phrase "that's so gay" as an insult. Each TV spot features teens being lectured by a celebrity like Hillary Duff or Wanda Sykes. While I appreciate the goal of taking homophobic lingo out of the mainstream, it's hard to imagine these ads going over successfully with young viewers. Some advertising folks have already tried spinning "so gay" into a compliment. I also wonder if the campaign would be more effective if it tackled a wider range of mainstream insults like "retard." The print ads focus on more jarring homophobic terms such as "faggot" and "dyke," although they are almost definitely in a different class (for now, at least). I'm reminded of when someone used the phrase "that's so gay" in front of a gay friend of mine, then looked to him awkwardly and asked, "Oh man, is it OK to say that?" My friend replied, "I don't know, how gay was it?"

—Posted by David Griner

Published on October 8, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (42)
Filed under Ad Council, Arnold, Griner, PSAs

The arts, now part of a nutritious breakfast

Holy crap! Not only is Johannes Brahms the best Kool-Aid man ever, but his breakfast cereal makes you grow a beard. Who wouldn't fund the arts after seeing a commercial like this? The spot is part of an Ad Council campaign by Leo Burnett for Americans for the Arts. Another commercial, this one featuring Van Gogh, tries a little too hard with the Van Goghgurt pun, but the kid's reaction to the painting makes it work. It's odd that they chose a fruit loop like Van Gogh to push art on middle America, but he's still a more wholesome choice than someone like Caravaggio.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Published on August 25, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under Ad Council, Arts, Kiefaber, Leo Burnett, TV