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The Advertising Council, Inc. Business Information, Profile, and History

261 Madison Avenue, 11th Floor
New York, New York 10016
U.S.A.

Company Perspectives:

The Ad Council has endeavored to improve the lives of all Americans s ince first creating the category of public service advertising in 194 2.

History of The Advertising Council, Inc.

The Advertising Council, Inc., is a New York City-based not-for-profi t corporation that coordinates public service advertising campaigns, enlisting the volunteer services of advertising and communications co mpanies and media facilities, and distributes the public service anno uncements (PSAs) to media outlets that run them free of charge. All t old, the Ad Council receives about $1.3 billion in donated radio and television airtime and print space each year. The organization se rves both government agencies and other non-profit groups. Ad Council campaigns have included some of the best known advertising of the pa st half-century, including such well-known slogans as "A mind is a te rrible thing to waste," and "Friends don't let friends drive drunk." Advertising Council campaigns have also introduced several iconic cha racters, including Rosie the Riveter, Smokey the Bear, and McGruff th e Crime Dog.

Wartime Roots of PSAs in the Civil War

Public service advertising in America was usually related to war effo rts before the advent of the Ad Council. During the Civil War of the 1860s, for example, newspapers ran ads urged men to volunteer for the Army and made fundraising appeals to fund the war. During World War I, the U.S. government commissioned full-color posters to boost enlis tment, recruit workers for war industries, and sell Liberty bonds. Mu ch of the advertising work was done at cost and a lot of the media wa s donated, a harbinger of the Ad Council model a generation later. In the meantime, the concept of corporate advertising had emerged in th e early 1900s, as corporations and trade associations sought to sway public opinion on important issues of the day that affected commerce. During the difficult days of the 1930s, when America suffered throug h the Great Depression, business was held in a poor light by many. Th e advertising industry had its share of critics as well, and by the s tart of the 1940s advertisers felt pressure to justify its place in t he business world. The Association of National Advertisers and the Am erican Association of Advertising Agencies commissioned studies, and the Advertising Research Foundation conducted polls to gain an unders tanding of how advertising was viewed and what was its perceived purp ose. Not surprisingly, many in the industry wanted to develop an ad c ampaign to sell the idea of ad campaigns, to pitch the importance of advertising in creating jobs, lowering prices, and building wealth. W hen the two advertising associations decided to hold a joint meeting to discuss the plight of the industry in November 1941, one of the sp eakers took a different approach. His name was James Webb Young.

Young, whose formal education never went beyond eighth grade, worked his way up from office boy at the J. Walter Thompson agency to writer and eventually vice-president. In his 30 minute address at the joint meeting, Young maintained that the promotion of advertising lost sig ht of a more important goal, reviving confidence in business, of whic h advertising was a mere tool. But he went further, arguing that adve rtising should be used to promote the greater good: "It ought to be u sed to wipe out such diseases of ignorance as childbed fever. It ough t to do the nutritional job this country needs to have done. It ought to be the servant of music, of art, of literature and of all the for ces of righteousness." At the heart of Young's vision was an organiza tion, a council, that would marshal the resources of the advertising community to promote worthy social causes, funded by business but wit h freedom and autonomy. The nobility of the effort would redound favo rably on the reputation of advertising and business in general in the eyes of the public.

Young's call was taken up with enthusiasm by the attendees and commit tees were established to organize what the meeting minutes referred t o as "the new Advertising Council, or whatever it is to be called." B ut war was raging around the world and within a matter of weeks, the United States would be drawn into the conflict following the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. The war effort took preced ence, as virtually every industry rallied to the call to service, inc luding advertising. In 1942 the organization became known as the War Advertising Council. It operated out of both New York and Washington, D.C., under the auspices of the Office of War Information, funded by $100,000 raised from ad agencies and media associations.

Ad Council's World War II Effort

The War Council's first assignment was to convince Americans not to h oard vital materials needed in the war effort that were now to be rat ioned, including rubber, sugar, and wool. The first full-fledge Ad Co uncil campaign, also launched in 1942, was the sale of war bonds that would help finance the war. The campaign would run in some form unti l 1980, war bonds later becoming known as Savings Bonds. Also in 1942 the Ad Council created a campaign to urge Americans to be careful ab out discussing information that might be of interest to the enemy. On e slogan, "Loose Lips Sink Ships," would be remembered long after the war ended. Generally forgotten was "Keep it Under Your Stetson," a s logan that revealed a practice at the time of tying brand names to wa r ads. Not only did the companies involved pay for the ads, the gover nment believed it was important that trademarks be kept alive in the marketplace during a war of uncertain duration. Some companies went t oo far, however, placing what were called brag ads. Legendary adman R aymond Rubicam commented at the time, "A ball bearing manufacturer in formed us that the subject of ball bearings is on everyone's lips now adays, and sugar was an Axis-killer and castor beans had left the med icine cabinet for the battlefield." He also said that according to Ma dison Avenue air conditioners were responsible for sinking enemy ship s and water conditioners for destroying Panzer tanks. The War Adverti sing Council stepped in to curb this practice, which dissipated withi n a year.

The War Advertising Council also produced a campaign to recruit women workers for war industries, which had to deal with a shortage of wor kers because of the millions of men serving in the military. The effo rt was personified by the invention of Rose the Riveter, who proclaim ed to women, "We can do it!" Approximately two million women answered the call and went to work. Not only did their involvement help susta in the war economy, it began to change society's view of women's role outside of the home. It was also during the war, in 1944, that the A d Council launched its longest running campaign, Forest Fire Preventi on and its famous slogan, "Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires." At the time, the vast majority of forest fires were the result of accident, and the lack of available manpower hindered the government's ability to respond. Many conscientious objectors to the war, in fact, were r ecruited to fight the fires. Disney allowed Bambi to be used in the f irst poster, but the dear was soon replaced by an Ad Council creation that became an American icon: Smokey Bear, who would become Smokey t he Bear in the 1950s. It was also during World War II that the Ad Cou ncil established a 50-year relationship with the American Red Cross, helping the organization in blood drives, the recruitment of voluntee rs, and fund raising.

As the end of the war neared in 1945, President Roosevelt, before his death, urged the War Advertising Council to remain active after the peace. By now, the image of American business was much improved and J ames Young's vision for the Ad Council had been affirmed, as it becam e apparent that public service provided business with the kind of pos itive public relations no amount of money could buy. Theodore Repplie r, who served as the War Advertising Council's executive director, co mmented, "The war never stopped. Only the enemy has changed." The org anization reverted back to The Advertising Council name and in 1947 R epplier was named its first president.

After the war, the Ad Council continued to urge forest fire preventio n, sell savings bonds, and work with the Red Cross. It also launched campaigns that dealt with veteran's rights and housing, tolerance for religious and ethnic groups, the danger of nuclear weapons, and the value of world trade. In 1947 the Ad Council began working with the N ational Safety Council in an effort to cut down the staggering number of highway fatalities. With the onset of the Cold War between Commun ist countries and the West, the Ad Council supported Radio Free Europ e and promoted freedom and free enterprise. During the 1950s the orga nization moved beyond radio, print ads, and billboards to use comic b ooks and television. Perhaps the most important, and successful Ad Co uncil campaign of the 1950s was the drive to get parents to have thei r children immunized against Polio, a childhood scourge for many year s. Also during the 1950s the Ad Council formed the Campaigns Review C ommittee to examine each campaign at every stage of its development a nd execution in an effort to make it as effective as possible.

New Projects in the 1960s

The Ad Council tackled a number of new subjects in the 1960s. It was also during this period that advertisers ceased to sponsor their own television shows and the networks took control of programming. As a r esult, the influence of advertisers on Ad Council spots was diminishe d. The organization also refined its operating procedure, as agencies donated their efforts to create the advertising and media companies ran the campaigns free of charge. In 1961 the Ad Council began promot ing the Peace Corps, the volunteer organization envisioned by Preside nt Kennedy. The recruitment effort would last three decades.

Pollution was becoming a concern in America and in 1961 the Ad Counci l launched the Keep American Beautiful campaign, which ran until 1983 . It originally focused on "litter bugs," but also dramatized the eff ects of other forms of pollution. The best known television spot in t he campaign was aired on Earth Day in 1971 and featured a tearful Nat ive American actor, Iron Eyes Cody, and the slogan, "People start pol lution. People can stop it." Called "The Crying Indian," the PSA won a pair of Clios and was ranked 50th among the top 100 advertising cam paigns of the 20th Century by Ad Age magazine. "It also repres ent what some critics believed was wrong with the Ad Council," accord ing to John McDonough writing for Advertising Age. "The Keep A merican Beautiful campaign rested on the premise that 'people start p ollution, people can stop it.' But what people and how? 'The damage d one by litter is ... inconsequential.' writer Kennen Peck noted in The Progressive in 1983, 'compared to the damage done by industr ial pollution ...' While different versions of the '70s campaign spot s showed smokestacks as well as garbage, critics argued that by placi ng responsibility for pollution on individuals rather than institutio ns, the campaign was a powerful political decoy devised by corporate interests to divert public attention from the real issues of industri al waste."

Criticism was not new to the Ad Council, however. In the beginning, R epublicans accused the organization of being an arm of the Roosevelt reelection effort, and others claimed the Ad Council was only trying to prevent the taxation of advertising. In 1950 one headline-seeking politician claimed that the Ad Council, along with the Ford Foundatio n, was little more than a Communist Front. The Ad Council was also cr iticized in the 1960s for being slow to recognize the plight of minor ities and the conditions in America's urban centers. In response, the organization began addressing more sensitive topics. During the 1970 s the Ad Council began its work on behalf of the United Negro College Fund, best known for the slogan, "A mind as a terrible thing to wast e." During the 1970s the Ad Council also tackled once-taboo subjects like venereal disease and child abuse. Also of note in the 1970s, the Ad Council began working with the National Crime Prevention Council, urging Americans to "Take a bite out of crime," as espoused by one o f the Ad Council's most popular characters, the trench coat-wearing M cGruff the Crime Dog, who would issue a wealth of safety tips to chil dren and adults alike.

In the 1980s, Ad Council campaigns took on drug abuse. At the behest of First Lady Nancy Regan, it created the "Just Say No" campaign, and later in the decade began to work with the Partnership for a Drug-Fr ee America. Also in the 1980s the Ad Council launched a Drunk Driving Prevention campaign, which coined the slogan, "Friends Don't Let Fri ends Drive Drunk," as well as a Safety Belt Education campaign that f eatured Vince & Larry, the Crash Test Dummies and the tagline, "Y ou Could Learn A Lot From a Dummy." While the anti-drug campaigns had little impact, the auto safety efforts proved highly effective. In 1 988 the Ad Council tackled the controversial issue of AIDS, urging pr evention through the use of condoms.

International Influence in 1990s and Beyond

The 1990s saw the Ad Council extend its influence beyond North Americ a. With the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe, the Ad Council helpe d in the organization of volunteer Ad Councils in emerging democracie s such as Russia and the Ukraine. It also aided similar efforts in ot her countries, including Belgium and Thailand. In 1994 the Ad Council launched a campaign to prevent domestic violence. It was at this poi nt that the organization decided that instead of targeting a wide var iety of messages it would focus much of its resources on a single top ic: children. In 1995 the Ad Council announced the initiative, "Commi tment 2000: Raising a Better Tomorrow," a 10-year effort that would p ursue a range of issues relating to children, from violence to educat ion and healthcare. Some of the current campaigns, such as drunk driv ing, would be recast to include children.

While the Ad Council might have focused its mission, it still remaine d ready to respond to new challenges. In the aftermath of the Septemb er 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the organization was quick to become involved. Employees of Texas ad agency GSDM&M were in Maryland in a client meeting when the attacks unfolded. As they drove home to Te xas (because air flights were suspended) they decided to create a PSA that celebrated America's diversity. The agency's president contacte d the Ad Council about being a partner in the endeavor, and for the f irst time in its history the Ad Council became the sole signatory of a PSA. The result was the "I am an American" spot, featuring a wide r ange of men and women, young and old, of different races declaring "I am an American." The spot was on the air within ten days of the atta cks.

Also during this time, three advertising industry associations met to plan an advertising campaign to celebrate freedom. The Ad Council wa s enlisted to manage the Campaign for Freedom. Unlike traditional Ad Council campaigns that were developed by a single agency, this would be the joint work of four agencies, and instead of relying on the bac king of a sponsoring organization, the Ad Council itself raised the n ecessary funds to cover costs. After several months of development, t he Campaign for Freedom was ready to launch in time for the Fourth of July holiday in 2002. A second phase was timed to coincide with the second anniversary of the September 11 attacks. The campaign evolved into a long-term effort called "Explore Freedom."

While the essential mission of the Ad Council remained unchanged, the organization was finding new ways to disseminate its messages. Just as it was quick to embrace television in the 1950s, it seized on the possibilities of the Internet as early as 1998, not only advertising on the Web but serving as a host. As Nat Ives wrote in the New Yor k Times in 2005, "These days, Ad Council campaigns receive exposu re in forms like Internet video, e-cards from American Greetings, tax i-top signs and video kiosks in stores. Google supports the campaigns through a grant program that allows nonprofit groups to secure keywo rd search terms; when Web surfers enter searches for those terms, lin ks to public service ads appear next to the regular search results." The Ad Council was also taking steps to improve the television time s lots for its PSAs, typically relegated to the early morning hours. Th e organization created what it called an "upfront" model that allowed media companies to determine what issues they wanted to support and time commitments could be secured ahead of time. As a result of these changes, the Ad Council, more than 60 years old, remained a vital fo rce in American culture.

Principal Divisions: Campaign Review; Industries Advisory; Med ia; Public Issues Advisory.

Related information about Advertising

The practice of informing and influencing others not personally known to the communicator through paid messages in the media; also the advertisements themselves. From humble origins (eg tradesmen's signs), advertising has developed in parallel with modern industrial society and the mass media. News-sheets in the 17th-c carried brief statements (eg announcing the sale of patent medicines), but it was not until the late 19th-c, with the advent of mass production of consumer goods, that the industry developed on the huge scale found today. Advertising for consumer goods, whether of the ‘fast moving’ variety (eg washing powders) or ‘durables’ (eg cars) has long been the most conspicuous kind, on poster sites, in the press, and on television. ‘Display’ ads for such products in newspapers or magazines are characterized by their size and use of graphics (especially photographs), slogans, and large type. In contrast, ‘classified’ ads are typically single-column width, consisting of words only, and grouped together under headings (eg ‘personal’, ‘situations vacant’, or ‘wanted’). Other approaches include direct marketing (by post or telephone) and direct response advertising (via tear-off coupons), both of which have resulted from the difficulty mass media advertising has in reaching a target audience and measuring its own effectiveness.

Manufacturers and retailers are not the only groups to realize the value of communicating with the general public through advertising. Governments, political parties, service industries (eg banks and financial institutions), trade unions, employers' associations, pressure groups, and charities also employ advertising as a major means of promoting ideas and causes. Regulations on who may advertise and on the quantity and nature of ads, especially commercials, vary from country to country. In recent years some advertisers have found the sponsorship of sporting and cultural events a convenient way to side-step controls applying elsewhere to the promotion of their products (especially cigarettes) and a means of associating these with healthy or prestigious activities. From being small-scale brokers of advertising space on behalf of newspaper proprietors, many modern advertising agencies now offer a ‘full service’, comprising market research and creative expertise, media planning, and media buying. The influence of the USA in developing advertising techniques (Madison Avenue) has been central. Since the 1960s, however, ‘creative shops’ have offered specialist design and copywriting services, with ‘media independents’ later doing the same for media planning and buying.

Advertising is only one, though perhaps the most controversial, of the elements of the ‘marketing mix’. As such it has always been subject to attack, whether on moral, ideological, or aesthetic grounds. Underlying this criticism is the presumption that advertising has pernicious effects on individuals, social groups, or whole societies. Apologists respond by claiming that advertising merely reflects the values and styles already existing in society.

Other components of the promotional mix include publicity, public relations, personal selling, and sales promotion.

History

In ancient times the most common form of advertising was by word of mouth; however, commercial messages and political campaign displays have been found in the ruins of Pompeii. Egyptians used papyrus to create sales messages and wall posters, while lost-and-found advertising on papyrus was common in Greece and Rome. Wall or rock painting for commercial advertising is another manifestation of an ancient media advertising form, which is present to this day in many parts of Asia, Africa, and South America. For instance, the tradition of wall paintings can be traced back to Indian rock-art paintings that goes back to 4000 BCBhatia (2000). In the 17th century advertisements started to appear in weekly newspapers in England.

These early print ads were used mainly to promote books, which became increasingly affordable thanks to the printing press, and medicines, which were increasingly sought after as disease ravaged Europe. However, false advertising and so-called "quack" ads became a problem, which ushered in regulation of advertising content.
As the economy was expanding during the 19th century, the need for advertising grew at the same pace. The success of this advertising format led to the growth of mail-order advertising such as the Sears Catalog, at one time referred to as the "Farmer's Bible". In 1843 the first advertising agency was established by Volney Palmer in Philadelphia. At first the agencies were just brokers for ad space in newspapers, but by the 20th century, advertising agencies started to take over responsibility for the content as well.

The 1960s saw advertising transform into a modern, more scientific approach in which creativity was allowed to shine, producing unexpected messages that made advertisements more tempting to consumers' eyes. The Volkswagen ad campaign featuring such headlines as "Think Small" and "Lemon" ushered in the era of modern advertising by promoting a "position" or "unique selling proposition" designed to associate each brand with a specific idea in the reader or viewer's mind.

The late 1980s and early 1990s saw the introduction of cable television and particularly MTV. Pioneering the concept of the music video, MTV ushered in a new type of advertising: the consumer tunes in for the advertisement, rather than it being a byproduct or afterthought. As cable (and later satellite) television became increasingly prevalent, "specialty" channels began to emerge, and eventually entire channels, such as QVC and Home Shopping Network and ShopTV, devoted to advertising merchandise, where again the consumer tuned in for the ads.

Marketing through the Internet opened new frontiers for advertisers and led to the "dot-com" boom of the 1990s. At the turn of the 21st century, the search engine Google revolutionized online advertising by emphasizing contextually relevant, unobtrusive ads intended to help, rather than inundate, users. This has led to a plethora of similar efforts and an increasing trend of interactive advertising.

Today, innovations as "guerrilla" promotions, which involve unusual approaches such as staged encounters in public places, giveaways of products such as cars that are covered with brand messages, and interactive advertising where the viewer can respond to become part of the advertising message. This reflects an increasing trend of interactive and "embedded" ads, such as via product placement, having consumers vote through text messages, and various innovations utilizing social networking sites (e.g. The lists are presented in the following box:

Public service advertising

The same advertising techniques used to promote commercial goods and services can be used to inform, educate and motivate the public about non-commercial issues, such as AIDS, political ideology, energy conservation, religious recruitment, and deforestation.

Advertising, in its non-commercial guise, is a powerful educational tool capable of reaching and motivating large audiences. - Attributed to Howard Gossage by David Ogilvy

Public service advertising, non-commercial advertising, public interest advertising, cause marketing, and social marketing are different terms for (or aspects of) the use of sophisticated advertising and marketing communications techniques (generally associated with commercial enterprise) on behalf of non-commercial, public interest issues and initiatives.

In the United States, the granting of television and radio licenses by the FCC is contingent upon the station broadcasting a certain amount of public service advertising. ~ Jacques Seguela

Type

Media

Commercial advertising media can include wall paintings, billboards , street furniture components, printed flyers, radio, cinema and television ads, web banners, web popups, skywriting, bus stop benches, magazines, newspapers, town criers, sides of buses, taxicab doors and roof mounts, musical stage shows, subway platforms and trains, elastic bands on disposable diapers, stickers on apples in supermarkets, the opening section of streaming audio and video, posters, and the backs of event tickets and supermarket receipts.

Covert advertising embedded in other entertainment media is known as product placement.

A more recent version of this is advertising in film, by having a main character use an item or other of a definite brand - an example is in the movie Minority Report, where Tom Cruise's character Tom Anderton owns a computer with the Nokia logo clearly written in the top corner, or his watch engraved with the Bulgari logo. Another example of advertising in film is in I, Robot, where main character played by Will Smith mentions his Converse shoes several times, calling them "classics," because the film is set far in the future. Cadillac chose to advertise in the movie The Matrix Reloaded, which as a result contained many scenes in which Cadillac cars were used. Similarly, product placement for Omega Watches and BMW cars featured in recent James Bond films.

The TV commercial is generally considered the most effective mass-market advertising format and this is reflected by the high prices TV networks charge for commercial airtime during popular TV events. The annual Super Bowl football game in the United States is known as much for its commercial advertisements as for the game itself, and the average cost of a single thirty-second TV spot during this game has reached $2.5 million (as of 2006).
Increasingly, other mediums such as those discussed below are overtaking television due to a shift towards consumer's usage of the Internet as well as devices such as TiVo.

Advertising on the World Wide Web is a recent phenomenon.

E-mail advertising is another recent phenomenon. Unsolicited bulk E-mail advertising is known as "spam".

Some companies have proposed to place messages or corporate logos on the side of booster rockets and the International Space Station. Controversy exists on the effectiveness of subliminal advertising (see mind control), and the pervasiveness of mass messages (see propaganda).

Unpaid advertising (also called word of mouth advertising), can provide good exposure at minimal cost. Personal recommendations ("bring a friend", "sell it"), spreading buzz, or achieving the feat of equating a brand with a common noun ("Xerox" = "photocopier", "Kleenex" = tissue, and "Vaseline" = petroleum jelly) -- these are the pinnacles of any advertising campaign. In the United States, networks like the WB and FOX have had success with shows based on this premise; the trouble is, I don't know which half." - John Wanamaker, father of modern advertising.

The impact of advertising has been a matter of considerable debate and many different claims have been made in different contexts. The (eventually successful) opponents of advertising, on the other hand, claim that advertising does in fact increase consumption.

According to many media sources, the past experience and state of mind of the person subjected to advertising may determine the impact that advertising has. Children under the age of four may be unable to distinguish advertising from other television programs, whilst the ability to determine the truthfulness of the message may not be developed until the age of 8.

Public perception of the medium

As advertising and marketing efforts become increasingly ubiquitous in modern Western societies, the industry has come under criticism of groups such as AdBusters via culture jamming which criticizes the media and consumerism using advertising's own techniques. Recognizing the social impact of advertising, Mediawatch-uk, a British special interest group, works to educate consumers about how they can register their concerns with advertisers and regulators. The award-winning book, Made You Look How Advertising Works and Why You Should Know, by former Mediawatch (a feminist organisation founded by Ann Simonton not linked to mediawatch-uk) president Shari Graydon, provides context for these issues for young readers.
Public interest groups are increasingly suggesting that access to the mental space targeted by advertisers should be taxed, in that at the present moment that space is being freely taken advantage of by advertisers with no compensation paid to the members of the public who are thus being intruded upon. Florida enacted such a tax in 1987 but was forced to repeal it after six months, as a result of a concerted effort by national commercial interests, which withdrew planned conventions, causing major losses to the tourism industry, and cancelled advertising, causing a loss of 12 million dollars to the broadcast industry alone.

Negative effects on communication media

An extensively documented effect is the control and vetoing of free information by the advertisers. The bigger both companies are, the bigger their relation gets, maximizing control over a single information.

Advertisers may try to minimize information about or from consumer groups, or consumer controlled purchasing initiatives (as joint purchase systems), or consumer controlled quality information systems.

Another indirect effect of advertising is to modify the very nature of the communication media where it is shown. Though that regulation continues in effect for broadcasts originating within the country, it has been weakened by the European Court of Justice, which has found that Sweden was obliged to accept whatever programming was targeted at it from neighboring countries or via satellite.

In Europe and elsewhere there is a vigorous debate on whether and how much advertising to children should be regulated. This debate was exacerbated by a report released by the Kaiser Family Foundation in February 2004 which suggested that food advertising targeting children was an important factor in the epidemic of childhood obesity in the United States.

In many countries - namely New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, and many European countries - the advertising industry operates a system of self-regulation. Advertisers, advertising agencies and the media agree on a code of advertising standards that they attempt to uphold. Some self-regulatory organizations are funded by the industry, but remain independent, with the intent of upholding the standards or codes (like the Advertising Standards Authority in the UK).

Naturally, many advertisers view governmental regulation or even self-regulation as intrusion of their freedom of speech or a necessary evil. Popup, Flash, banner, advergaming, and email advertisements (the last often being a form of spam) abound.

Each year, greater sums are paid to obtain a commercial spot during the Super Bowl. To counter this effect, many advertisers have opted for product placement on TV shows like Survivor. The Will Ferrell movie Talladega Nights even goes as far as to make a mockery out of it in one scene.

Particularly since the rise of "entertaining" advertising, some people may like an advert enough that they wish to watch it later or show a friend. In general, the advertising community has not yet made this easy, although some have used the Internet to widely distribute their adverts to anyone wishing to see or hear them.

Another significant trend to note for the future of advertising is the growing importance of niche or targeted ads. Also brought about by the Internet and the theory of The Long Tail, advertisers will have an increasing ability to reach narrow audiences.

Chronology

Key Dates:
1941: Advertising associations meet to plan Advertising Counci l.
1942: Ad Council formed and becomes The War Advertising Counci l for duration of World War II.
1943: Rosie the Riveter is created.
1944: Smokey Bear character is created.
1958: A polio vaccine campaign is launched.
1962: The Peace Corps campaign is launched.
1972: "A mind is a terrible thing to waste" tagline is coined for the United Negro College Fund campaign.
1988: An AIDS prevention campaign is launched.
2002: Campaign For Freedom, a joint venture with three other a gencies, is launched.

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