Under the awards season radar is one competition that richly deserves a much higher profile. Last month, the Ad Council bestowed its Gold, Silver and Bronze Bells at its 60th annual Public Service Award Dinner in New York. The Bells are in recognition of pro bono efforts created and crafted to benefit society at large.
Earning the Gold Bell For Creative Excellence, the evening’s highest honor, was the Ad Council and the American Institute of CPA’s Financial Literacy campaign created pro bono by New York ad agency kbs+. Silver and Bronze bells were awarded to Deutsch, Inc., and Y&R for their work on the Emergency Preparedness and Supporting Minority Education campaigns, respectively.
The Gold, Silver and Bronze Bell recipients were selected from all of the PSA campaigns created by the Ad Council’s volunteer agencies that launched this past year. The Bell winners were picked by the Ad Council’s Campaign Review Committee which consists of top creative and planning talent from the nation’s leading ad agencies.
The winning Financial Literacy public service spots by kbs+ demonstrate the significance of starting to save money earlier in life and the impact that saving can have on future plans and success. The PSAs direct audiences to www.feedthepig.org, where they can find helpful tips and information on planning finances and setting saving goals.
Deutsch, Inc. received the Silver Bell for their work on the Ready Kids campaign, in collaboration with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The creative work speaks primarily to parents, encouraging them to have the difficult conversation with their children about emergency preparedness in a way that is smart, playful and ultimately motivates families to action and make a plan.
And the Bronze Bell was awarded to Y&R for their work on the Supporting Minority Education campaign. The new campaign features the tagline “A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste But a Wonderful Thing to Invest In” and tells the stories of real students who have benefited from the United Negro College Fund, presenting their future education as an investment in society as a whole.
Y&R has been the pro bono advertising agency on the campaign for more than 40 years.