The Ad Council on Tuesday said it has raised $37 million from corporate donors such as Bank of America, Facebook, and General Motors to fund a nationwide coronavirus vaccine campaign intended at encouraging Americans to take the vaccine.
The nonprofit, known for forming the well-known Smokey the Bear wildfire prevention campaign, will start launching public service announcements this month across TV, web, and social media to fight distrust and hesitation toward the COVID-19 vaccine.
Top donors supporting the campaign include NBCUniversal and parent company Comcast, Linda Yaccarino, head of advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal, was declared as board chair of the Ad Council last week.
Walgreens and Walmart, and non-profits such as the American Heart Association, are going to help fund the campaign, the council said.
The Ad Council is seeking to raise $50 million for developing the education program.
Particular attention will be put toward developing messages that would reach racial minorities, who are more likely to distrust the healthcare industry due to decades of unequal treatment and notable cases of discrimination.
“Our nation’s recovery depends on widespread adoption of vaccination against COVID-19, which will need the Ad Council’s most ambitious public education effort ever,” said Lisa Sherman, chief executive of the Ad Council, in a statement.
Ad agencies consist of Pereira O’Dell, JOY Collective, and Alma are working with the Ad Council for developing the public service announcements.
About 23,214,472 people in the US have been confirmed as being infected with the coronavirus. While 10,201,460 have made recovery, about 386,842 have died due to the virus in the country.
