Joel McHale Hosts the Ad Council's 62nd Annual Public Service Award Dinner in Honor of Campbell Soup Company's CEO Denise Morrison

NEW YORK, Nov. 12, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ad Council presented its 62^nd Annual Public Service Award to Denise Morrison, President and CEO of Campbell Soup Company, at the organization's Annual Dinner last night held at the Waldorf Astoria in New York. Joel McHale hosted the event, which concluded with a surprise live performance from musical star Rachel Platten who sang her platinum-record, Fight Song, and her new hit Stand By You, which is featured in the Ad Council's new Bullying Prevention campaign. The Ad Council also presented the new CADALYST Award, the organization's highest honor recognizing creative excellence and social impact, to R/GA and a coalition of partners for their work on the Love Has No Labels campaign.

Attended by more than 1,400 prominent executives from the media, advertising, and corporate communities, the Annual Dinner recognizes the industries and individuals who support the Ad Council and its public service campaigns. Ths year's dinner was chaired by David Christopher, Chief Marketing Officer of AT&T Mobility and the Chairman of the Ad Council's Board of Directors. Platinum Sponsors included AT&T, Campbell Soup Company, Facebook, Clear Channel Outdoor and iHeartMedia and Yahoo.

"Last night's dinner was incredibly inspiring for all of those who support the Ad Council and our campaigns," said Lisa Sherman, President and CEO, the Ad Council. "It was a wonderful tribute to Denise Morrison and our partners who create and support social marketing programs that have moved and engaged audiences, and had a transformative impact on so many lives."

Ms. Morrison was presented with this year's Public Service Award in recognition of her personal and corporate commitment to philanthropy. Under her leadership, Campbell has reduced water use by 3.7 billion gallons, reduced greenhouse gas emissions of 446,000 tons and significantly improved their recycling rate. Campbell has also launched a Healthy Communities Program, investing $10 million during the past 10 years to reduce childhood obesity and hunger in its hometown of Camden, New Jersey. Ms. Morrison also champions philanthropy in her personal  endeavors. She is a founding member of the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation, an initiative to combat obesity and she serves on the board of the Grocery Manufacturers Association and was named a Co-Chair of the Consumer Goods Forum in 2015.  

This year marked the first-ever CADALYST Awards, recognizing both creative excellence and social impact. The awards were presented by Wayne Best and Cindy Gallop, Chairs of the Ad Council's Campaign Review Committees, comprised of top creative and planning talent. The winners were chosen from the more than 40 Ad Council public service campaigns created by the Ad Council's volunteer agencies that launched in the past year.

Gold CADALYST Award recipients for the winning Love Has No Labels campaign were ad agency R/GA and campaign partners Coca-Cola, Pepsico, P&G, Unilever, Allstate, State Farm and Upworthy. Launched in March, Love Has No Labels celebrates diversity by promoting acceptance of all communities regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, ability, etc. and encourages audiences to rethink their implicit bias. The PSAs reveal a broad range of loving couples behind an X-ray screen of skeletons and direct viewers to LoveHasNoLabels.com where they can find resources on how to overcome implicit bias. The campaign garnered more than one hundread and fifty million views on line,  and is the second most viewed community activism video of all time. Additionally, more than one-third of Americans are aware of the PSAs and there has been a significant increase in the number of adults reporting they have recently discussed the issue of discrimination and prejudice with family, friends or colleagues.

The Silver CADALYST Award was presented to Pereira & O'Dell, Unilever and Vevo for their work on the Recycling campaign. The Bronze CADALYST Award was presented to Alma, DDB NY and Facebook for their work on the Caregiver Assistance campaign, which helps connect caregivers to experts and other caregivers as a source for resources and support.

The Ad Council
The Ad Council is a private, non-profit organization with a rich history of marshaling volunteer talent from the advertising and media industries to deliver critical messages to the American public. Having produced literally thousands of PSA campaigns addressing the most pressing social issues of the day, the Ad Council has affected, and continues to affect, tremendous positive change by raising awareness, inspiring action, and saving lives. To learn more about the Ad Council and its campaigns, visit www.adcouncil.org, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or view our PSAs on YouTube.

SOURCE The Ad Council

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