Promoting Vaccines, 'It’s Up To You' becomes the Largest Campaign in Ad Council’s History

Public health communicators, nonprofits, health agencies, and some major brands are all aligned on one thing: convincing Americans to get a vaccine. For a sizable chunk of the population, that’s a challenge.

• 34% of Americans say they are not likely to get the vaccine, according to a March 8 Ipsos poll, down from 63% back in September.

Enter: the brands

The Ad Council has signed more than 300 brands for its “It’s Up To You” campaign, good for more than $52 million in donations. The PSA push is the largest in the nonprofit's history, which includes classics like Smokey Bear and Rosie the Riveter.

The ads are running on broadcast, cable, streaming, and audio platforms like Spotify. Google “vaccine” and you might see a programmatic ad. Some spots feature popular spiritual leaders, others former presidents and first ladies. They all direct viewers to the same website for vaccine info.

• The campaign has already hit 25.3 billion impressions, and it will run indefinitely.

“It impacts everybody; everybody is a target and yet one size doesn’t fit all,” Heidi Arthur, the Ad Council’s chief campaign development officer, told Marketing Brew.

Participating brands have either donated cold hard $$$ or ad inventory and branded content to the Ad Council’s cause.

Case in point: Unilever is working with retailers and Ad Council partners like CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart for signage and geotargeted audio ads that'll run in late April and early May.

• Unilever spent “several millions” on co-branded work alongside the Ad Council, Rob Master, VP of media and digital engagement at Unilever, told us.

“Americans are looking for trusted voices. Now, more than ever, businesses and brands are oftentimes seen as a trusted voice,” he said.

Do PSA campaigns work? Mostly...

Nancy Reagan’s Just Say No campaign sank like a rock, but most find more success, said Dr. Suruchi Sood, a community health professor at Drexel University. Sood says the latest efforts stand a chance of working.

• “With the level of misinformation that’s floating around, referring people to just one site that they can trust is a really good strategy; your message doesn’t get diluted.”

Lingering question: So why are brands from Budweiser to Unilever getting involved?

“The bottom line is they want to make profits,” Sood said. “They create a situation where they get the publicity and people kind of feel like, ‘Oh, this is a trustworthy brand because they really think they care.”