Leo Burnett Honored with Top Creative Award for Innovative Emergency Preparedness PSAs

NEW YORK, Nov. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Natural disasters that have devastated the nation this year have reminded Americans about the importance of preparedness.  That was the focus of the Ad Council and FEMA's Ready campaign created pro bono by Chicago-based advertising agency Leo Burnett.  The innovative campaign earned Leo Burnett the Ad Council's top creative award of the year – the Gold Bell for Creative Excellence.  Marc Pritchard, Global Branding Officer of The Proctor and Gamble Company and Ad Council Chairman of the Board, presented the award last night at the Ad Council's 59^th Annual Public Service Award Dinner. Silver and Bronze Bells were also awarded to Havas Worldwide New York and Grey New York for their work on the Unplanned Pregnancy Prevention and Stroke Awareness campaigns, respectively. 

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The Gold, Silver, and Bronze Bell winners were chosen from all of the PSAs created by the Ad Council's 40 volunteer agencies nationwide. Through a comprehensive review process, the bell winners were selected by the Ad Council's Campaign Review Committee (CRC), comprised of top creative and planning talent from the nation's leading advertising agencies. The CRC is responsible for review and approval of campaigns' strategic and creative direction and they help to ensure the Ad Council's standard of excellence. Judging, conducted in October, was led by CRC Chairs Rob Feakins, President and Chief Creative Officer at Publicis, Cindy Gallop, Founder and CEO of IFWeRanTheWorld and Susan Credle, Chief Creative Officer at Leo Burnett.

Havas Worldwide New York received the Silver Bell for their work on the Unplanned Pregnancy PSA campaign developed in partnership with the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy which uses humor to communicate the importance of careful and consistent use of birth control to young women.  The Bronze Bell was awarded to Grey New York for their new "Body Language" Stroke Awareness PSAs with the American Stroke Association which inform potential bystanders about the early warning signs of stroke.

"This year, our volunteer ad agencies developed an incredible body of work which will linger in the minds of audiences, helping to motivate changes in attitudes and behavior and, ultimately, improving and saving lives," said Peggy Conlon, president & CEO of the Ad Council. "We congratulate the creative teams at Leo Burnett, Havas Worldwide New York and Grey New York for their well-deserved awards. We're so proud to share their breakthrough and inspiring PSAs with the American public."

Leo Burnett's winning Ready PSAs demonstrate the significance of preparing today in advance of an emergency to help reduce the consequences of a disaster tomorrow, and direct audiences to www.ready.gov/today, where they will find a downloadable family emergency plan, emergency kit checklists and guidelines on how to better prepare.

"We created the 'Ready' campaign before Hurricane Sandy was even a thought. The Hurricane's swift onset and devastation to the East Coast serves as confirmation of how important it is to be prepared for a disaster on any given day," said Susan Credle, Chief Creative Officer, Leo Burnett USA. "Leo Burnett has a strong connection to the Ad Council and it's always an honor to be rewarded by your colleagues and acknowledged for creative work that truly affects peoples' lives."

Previous winners of the Gold Bell include ArnoldNYC for the Think Before You Speak campaign, Merkley + Partners for the Online Sexual Exploitation campaign, Kirshenbaum bond + partners (now kbs+) for the Adoption from Foster Care campaign, Kaplan Thaler Group for the Underage Drinking Prevention campaign, and McCann-Erickson for the Obesity Prevention campaign.

The Ad Council
The Ad Council is a private, non-profit organization with a 70-year history of marshalling 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 effect, 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. For more information, please visit www.adcouncil.org.  You can also visit www.facebook.com/adcouncil or follow the Ad Council on Twitter @AdCouncil.

SOURCE Ad Council