DDB Chicago Partners With the Ad Council for New GED Awareness Campaign Featuring 13 of Hollywood's Best

CHICAGO, April 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Today DDB Chicago and the Ad Council have announced the launch of a new campaign, 'GED Pep Talk Center,' aimed at motivating those who have not obtained a high school diploma.

This is the second year that DDB Chicago and Ad Council have partnered to help bring awareness to a national epidemic. 89% of American businesses require applicants to have at least a high school level of education, yet more than 35 million adults do not have a high school diploma. And while most know they need to get their GED Diploma, what they really need is a little "push" to get started – this new campaign does just that.

"Education is always a hot topic because it's a fundamental right," said Peter McGuinness, CEO DDB Chicago. "As a parent, you wish and want the best education for your children.  But it's often something that children and young adults take for granted or don't realize the full importance of until much later in life."

'GED Pep Talk Center' focuses on motivating people to take the necessary steps to get their GED.  This campaign exceeds the reach of a traditional advertising campaign in that it has tailored communication modules appropriate for the different levels of motivation needed.

The 'GED Pep Talk Center' has 13 celebrity pep talkers including Danny Trejo, Ron Perlman, DMC and Chris Lloyd to name a few – all of which were chosen for their unique communication styles to provide varying levels of encouragement to those in need of a little motivation. Additionally, the campaign helps people find and sign up for free GED classes.

The multi-media campaign provides several different opportunities for people to connect and get their celebrity pep talk. In addition to a 60 second TV spot to drive awareness, there is an online face-to-face pep talk at yourged.org; a hot-line with the option to choose the appropriate level; a special text service to get a celebrity call back and there is even an option for the most well-meaning family and friends to send a pep talk via Facebook to their loved ones.

"One thing is for sure, it's not just a pre-requisite when it comes to most jobs, it's also a stepping stone in people's lives.  It can qualify you and catapult you at the same time. Yet so many people don't have their GED so we're honored to work with Ad Council to help 'push' people over the finish line," added McGuinness.

Last year's GED campaign, "Take the First Step" recently won a Gold ARF David Ogilvy Award for excellence in advertising research.

About DDB  
DDB Worldwide Communications Group Inc (www.ddb.com) ranks among the top five consolidated advertising and marketing services global networks, according to Advertising Age. DDB emphasizes Social Creativity to grow the value and influence of brands around the world by creating ideas that people want to play with, participate in and pass along. The agency is consistently one of the most awarded at the Cannes Festival of Creativity and was recognized by The Gunn Report as one of the Top 3 Global Networks for 10 of the last 12 years. DDB was also recently named the Spikes Asia Network of the Year for the second consecutive year and the Eurobest Network of the Year for the third consecutive year. DDB Worldwide is part of Omnicom Group Inc. (OMC) and consists of more than 200 offices in over 90 countries.

SOURCE DDB Chicago