Debra L. Lee, chairman & CEO of BET Networks, has been elected to serve a one-year term as the new chair of the Ad Council’s board of directors. The nonprofit Ad Council is the United States’ largest producer of public service advertising
Ms. Lee joined the Ad Council Board in February 2008. She became vice chair of media and joined the executive and nominating committees in July 2011. She succeeds Marc Pritchard, global brand building officer of Procter & Gamble (P&G), as Ad Council board chair.
Media outlets donate approximately $1.5 billion in time and space to Ad Council PSA campaigns annually. The Ad Council’s current partnerships with BET include two campaigns targeting young adults (ages 18 – 24): GED achievement and unplanned pregnancy prevention. Since 2007, BET’s parent company, Viacom, has supported the Ad Council with more than $40 billion in donated media.
“The Ad Council does such important work across so many critical issues, and I have been proud to work with them over the past four years. I am so honored to be elected as the new chair of the Ad Council board of directors and look forward to continuing the Council’s legacy of creative, ground breaking and impactful work,” said Lee.
As chairman and CEO of BET Networks, Lee is one of the highest ranking leaders at Viacom Inc. Prior to her appointment as CEO of BET, Lee served as the network’s executive VP of strategic business development and played a key role in taking BET public in 1991. In 2003, Lee received the Distinguished Vanguard Award for Leadership from the National Cable Television Association. She was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame in 2010.
With Lee’s election, the Ad Council will continue its ongoing tradition of rotating board chairs every year between the organization’s founding sectors: media companies, advertising agencies and corporate advertisers. In 2014, Lee will be succeeded by Laura Desmond, global CEO, Starcom MediaVest Group, who currently serves as vice chair of agencies.
David Christopher, CMO, AT&T Mobility, has been elected to serve as the Ad Council’s vice chair of advertising, and Steve Lacy, chairman and CEO of Meredith Corporation, has assumed the position of finance committee chair.
Additionally, the Ad Council has elected 24 new Board members, each of whom will serve a three-year term. Among those they will work closely with is Peggy Conlon, president and CEO of the Ad Council.
The Ad Council’s new Board members are:
* Joseph Abruzzese, president, advertising sales, Discovery Communications
* Maryam Banikarim, SVP & CMO, Gannett Co., Inc.
* Dermot Boden, chief brand officer, Citigroup, Inc.
* Linda Boff, global executive director, digital, advertising & design, GE
* Monique Bonner, VP, Americas Marketing, Dell Inc.
* Lee Brown, head of global sales, Tumblr
* Toby Byrne, president, advertising sales, Fox Broadcasting Company
* Paul Chibe, VP, U.S. marketing, Anheuser-Busch
* Harris Diamond, chairman & CEO, McCann Worldgroup
* Paul Edwards, executive director, global marketing strategy, General Motors
* Michele Fabrizi, president & CEO, MARC USA
* Rob Frederick, VP & director, corporate responsibility, Brown-Forman
* Betsy Frost Webb, general manager, media and agency, management, Microsoft
* Todd Goldstein, chief revenue officer, AEG
* Julie Hamp, chief communications officer, Toyota Motor North America
* Tim Jones, CEO, Zenith Optimedia NA
* Michael Kassan, chairman & CEO, MediaLink
* Lesya Lysyj, CMO, Heineken USA
* Tom Noland, SVP, corporate communications, Humana, Inc.
* Steve Pacheco, director, advertising, FedEx
* Jo Ann Ross, president, network sales, CBS Television Network
* Michael Senackerib, CMO, Campbell Soup Company
* Paul Sturman, president & general manager, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare
* Deborah Van Valkenburgh, SVP, strategic brand management, PNC Financial Services
AD&Co. Launches Studio A; Davida Hall To Head New Venture As Sr. Director of Creative Content
Female-founded and led creative marketing agency AD&Co. has opened Studio A. The new venture will serve as AD&Co.’s in-house social brand content division, focused on developing and producing digital programming for advertising, social media, and influencer marketing campaigns designed to reach today’s audiences on the most popular and pivotal platforms. Davida Hall has been named to head Studio A as sr. director of creative content. She shifts over from AD&Co. where she held the same title since December 2023. Hall’s affiliations prior to AD&Co. include PopSugar and Studio71.
Amy Demas, founder and chief creative officer of AD&Co., said, “We understand content is king-—or queen—and that our clients need to engage their customer communities where they live. That inspired the logical expansion of AD&Co with Studio A, which is committed to producing only the most engaging and authentic brand stories.”
Studio A will harness both AD&Co’s and Hall’s deep expertise in the lifestyle sector, as content creators and avid consumers. Specializing in reaching audiences where they spend their time, the studio is immersed in social media, pop culture, and current trends, expertly crafting visuals, language, and storytelling to reinforce client brand identities and cut through the noise.
Studio A debuts with the “This Is Me” campaign for Love + Craft + Beauty, a brand dedicated to embracing and promoting diversity within the beauty space. “This Is Me” highlights Gen Z’s affinity for radical self-expression that allows individuals to tell their own stories, free from labels, using beauty and fashion as tools of authenticity. The campaign showcases models celebrating their unique qualities to present... Read More