I heard from someone, a professor who is very active in the mental health field, teaching and research, that a conference he attended recently was addressed by the Ad Council.

He's very pleased with one of their future campaign ads. They are currently putting the final touches on it. They will be featuring ads addressing the stigmas of mental health issues. It's intended to be a 3-year ad campaign.

They will be featuring people from all walks of life.

I just thought this was great to hear. The Ad Council does some great work. One campaign some of you may remember was Smokey the Bear. I think others included Rosy the riveter and the Victory Garden theme (many many years ago). And there have been some great successes from their ad campaigns.

As I understood what he said, the first in the series of ads will be addressing the issue of suicide.

I immediately thought of these forums.

I'm not trying to sell these guys! I'm just excited at the prospect of a campaign to raise people's awareness of the stigmas associated with a mental health problem.

I mean, just ask Alffe, or any other survivor in here, what it's like to face people when one of 'your own' has committed suicide.

I remember a lot of the following campaigns. I wonder how they'll do with the one on mental health.

Some of the Ad Council's more famous, and historic, campaigns include (from their website):

Buy US Savings Bonds for a Rainy Day - 1942-1980 - The Savings (or War) Bonds campaign was not only the organization's first campaign, but also its most successful campaign to date. Begun in 1942 by the then War Advertising Council, the campaign encouraged Americans to support the war effort by purchasing war bonds. By the time the campaign ended 38 years later, millions of Americans had purchased $35 billion in War/Savings Bonds.

Security of War Information - 1942-1945 - The War Advertising Council's "Loose Lips Sink Ships" and "Keep it Under Your Stetson" public service ads reminding Americans of the dangers of revealing too much information are still remembered today. The campaign encouraged Americans to be discreet in their communication to prevent information from being leaked to the enemy during World War II.

Women in War Jobs - 1942-1945 - Rosie the Riveter. The most successful advertising recruitment campaign in American history, this powerful symbol recruited two million women into the workforce to support the war economy. The underlying theme was that the social change required to bring women into the workforce was a patriotic responsibility for women and employers. Those ads made a tremendous change in the relationship between women and the workplace. Employment outside of the home became socially acceptable and even desirable.

Forest Fire Prevention - 1944-Present - The longest running campaign in Ad Council history, Smokey Bear and his famous warning, "Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires," was introduced to Americans in 1944. The Forest Fire Prevention campaign has reduced the number of acres lost annually from 22 million to 8.4 million (in 2000). Responding to the massive outbreak of wildfires in 2000, the campaign changed its focus to wildfires and Smokey's slogan to "Only You Can Prevent Wildfires."

Fight Polio - 1958-1961 - Although new horrors like AIDS have emerged, other diseases, such as polio, have all but disappeared. Advertising helped make this possible. Initially, the country responded very slowly to the new vaccine for paralytic polio. Three sets of shots were required at first, and it took an extended and repetitive advertising effort to get 80% of the at-risk populace fully immunized. Through April of 1960, inoculations had increased to 91.1 million, from 79 million the previous year.

Pollution - Keep America Beautiful - 1961-1983 - More than four decades ago, the Ad Council partnered with Keep America Beautiful to create a powerful visual image that dramatized how litter and other forms of pollution were hurting the environment, and how every individual has the responsibility to help protect it. The ad, which featured Native American actor Iron Eyes Cody, "The Crying Indian," first aired on Earth Day in 1971. Created by ad agency Marstellar, Inc., the campaign used the line, "People Start Pollution. People can stop it." The ad became one of the most memorable and successful campaigns in advertising history and was named one of the top 100 advertising campaigns of the 20th Century by Ad Age Magazine.

Peace Corps - 1961-1991. In 1961, many Americans didn't understand President Kennedy's Peace Corps program. To that end, The Ad Council and ad agency Young & Rubicam developed a campaign that captured the spirit and the nobility of purpose of the program. Ad agency Ted Bates & Co. created the slogan that conveyed its hardship and rewards -- "The Toughest Job You'll Ever Love." The ads challenged young people and began attracting volunteers to the program almost immediately. In 1962, shortly after the campaign began, more than 30,000 people applied to the Peace Corps. By 1965, more than a thousand people a week were clipping and mailing coupons from the ads, and by 1991, 30 percent of current Peace Corps volunteers were reached through the Ad Council's recruitment campaign.

United Negro College Fund - 1972-Present - Launched in 1972 to encourage Americans to support the United Negro College Fund, this campaign has helped raise more than $2.2 billion and has helped to graduate more than 350,000 minority students from college or beyond. The slogan, "A Mind is a Terrible Thing To Waste," has remained unchanged for more than three decades and has become part of the American vernacular.

Child Abuse Prevention - 1976-2003. In 1976, the Ad Council and Prevent Child Abuse America (PCAA) began raising awareness of a hidden crisis -- more than one million children in the United States were being abused each year. In the first month of the campaign, more than 40,000 people responded with letters to PCAA, and a 1982 survey showed that nine out of ten people believed that child abuse was a major social problem. The campaign evolved toward offering practical solutions and ad agency Lowe recently created new ads to encourage people to get involved in the prevention of child abuse and neglect.

Crime Prevention - 1979-Present. More than twenty-five years ago, the National Crime Prevention Council and the Ad Council introduced McGruff the Crime Dog™ to the nation and began encouraging Americans to help "Take a Bite out of Crime™." Today, more than 93% of children recognize the icon that provides safety tips for adults and kids. Over the years, the Crime Prevention campaign has helped teach kids, teens, and adults about violence and drugs, and the PSAs have inspired all citizens to get involved in building safer, more caring communities.

Drunk Driving Prevention - 1983-Present. Since launching this campaign in 1983, more than 68% of Americans exposed to the advertising have tried to prevent someone from driving drunk. In 1998, America experienced its lowest number of alcohol-related fatalities since the U.S. Department of Transportation began keeping records. Campaign taglines have included: "Drinking & Driving Can Kill A Friendship" and "Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk."

Safety Belt Education - 1985-2003. The single most effective protection against death and serious injury in a car crash is the safety belt. Since Vince & Larry, the Crash Test Dummies, were introduced to the American public in 1985, safety belt usage has increased from 14% to 79%, saving an estimated 85,000 lives, and $3.2 billion in costs to society. The campaign tagline, "You Could Learn A Lot From a Dummy," as well as the crash test dummies themselves, was retired in 1999, when the U.S. Department of Transportation revised the campaign.

Aids Prevention - 1988-1990. Launched in September of 1988, this groundbreaking ad was part of the first campaign to use the word "condom" in America. The ads informed Americans of the dangers of the AIDS virus and encouraged them to "Help stop AIDS. Use a condom."

Domestic Violence - 1994-Present. This campaign raised awareness of domestic violence by emphasizing that it affects everyone. The PSAs encouraged people to get involved in domestic violence prevention efforts and to intervene if they know someone in an abusive relationship. In the first year of the campaign, more than 34,000 calls were made to the Family Violence Prevention hotline. The campaign continues to raise awareness about domestic violence and to encourage constructive involvement in its prevention and intervention.

Well let's hear it for the Ad Council!!! Great stuff Doody....I hope they can accomplish educating the public... others have tried and failed.

Love Rosie the Riverter...have her magnet on my fridge. And Loose Lips Sink Ships is a classic...I use it to this day.

Have I missed the Ad Council's ads regarding Suicide?.....I have seen the billboards regarding depression. "If I told you I have Cancer, you wouldn't tell me to get over it, depression hurts!"

I have yet to see an ad on TV. And it's been over two years since Doody posted this.

I have seen a few commercials on our cable here from the ad council re: suicide...

usually late at night on MTV, Nick At Nite, VH1, ABC Family....

It's one of those things... if you are affected by suicide it will grab your attention really quick. I thought the commercials were great!!!

Actually they were quite prevalent for awhile. I can't remember what channels they ran on television but I saw them.

They primarily focused on mental health issues and ran a lot of ads on young people with mental health issues.

I'm thrilled to hear that there were some! guess I don't stay up late enough Abbie. *grin

Doody.....about those leeks. *grin

I see the ads a lot now... they are on both the American and Canadian channels (because we're close to the border - we get both)....

and you know... it seems to me they are running more now than ever before.. and I think its likely because so many people are affected by the economy...

they feel depressed and suicidal...
the ads are fighting the stigma and telling you to get help...

they are very well done ads.... next time I'll pay attention to who they were sponsored by... and then I'll report back here....

it is my hope that they are helping!

wow, this thread is old!! good digging Alffe!