"What if America wasn't America?" That was the question posed by a series of ads broadcast in the wake of the September 11th attacks, ads which depicted a dystopian America bereft of liberty:
Library -
Diner -
Church. Together with more positive ads like
Remember Freedom and
I Am an American, they encouraged frightened viewers to cherish their freedoms and defend against division and prejudice in the face of terrorism (
seven years previously). The campaign was the work of the
Ad Council, a non-profit agency that employs the creative muscle of volunteer advertisers to raise awareness for social issues of national importance. Founded during WWII as the War Advertising Council, the organization has been behind
some of the most memorable public service campaigns in American history, including
Rosie the Riveter,
Smokey the Bear,
McGruff the Crime Dog, and
the Crash Test Dummies. And the Council is still at it today, producing striking, funny, and above all
effective PSAs on everything from
student invention to
global warming to
arts education to
community service.
Additional resources:
A-to-Z index of Ad Council campaigns -
Campaigns organized by category -
Award-winning campaigns -
PSA Central: A free download directory of TV, radio, and print PSAs
(registration req'd) -
An exhaustive history of the Ad Council [46-page PDF] -
YouTube channel -
Vimeo channel -
Twitter feed
posted by Rhaomi
on Sep 11, 2009 -
69 comments
Brand virus leaps to another level. Law & Order episodes on TNT next month will have ads digitally inserted.
Which reminds me--I was thinking about a device that would
remove objects (say, Bruce Willis) from any channel I pick. . .I say
we should get paid for watching ads customized to our specifications. (via
Q)
posted by aflakete
on May 27, 2001 -
15 comments
I approached
this review expecting it to be of the "major media providers are the problem, not the solution" sort, but discovered something somewhat different:
"It’s not that the medium of the modern political campaign–television advertising–failed to do justice to men of substance, but that men of substance failed to adapt to television advertising..."
posted by dcehr
on Aug 7, 2000 -
3 comments
CBS said
NO! Reebok said yes.
If you have watched survivor, many of you may have noticed the ads for Reebok that push the limits of your imagination... somewhat. Now, watch the ad that CBS won't air. But Reebok has kindly put up on their website.
Is this a new low for TV? Or just another barrier being breached?
posted by da5id
on Aug 7, 2000 -
1 comment
Adventures in Consumer Stalking: Interactive TV "Broadcasters and advertisers, meanwhile, have long been eager to fire up interactive services, because they can know more about who is watching (and doing) what, and what consumers are buying. Targeted advertising with better response rates has long been a goal in the television industry."
posted by jenett
on Feb 13, 2000 -
1 comment
Nike this weekend will unveil a new 50-second commercial. The first 30 seconds will appear in a TV commercial before Saturday's Dolphins-Jaguars game. The second 20 seconds will be available at the Web site. The ad was created by Wieden & Kennedy of Portland.
posted by luke
on Jan 12, 2000 -
4 comments
