Good in Action

Last week, the Ad Council launched its first cohort of our new Emerging Leaders Fellowship Program, which aims to provide recent BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) graduates with in-depth experiences, mentorship and targeted training across a range of business functions that will help them advance in their new careers.

As communicators, forming an authentic connection with your intended audience is a total touchdown. So, if we want so badly for audiences to feel seen and heard, why not give them a direct line into the storytelling process?

Since 2016, our Love Has No Labels campaign has promoted diversity, equity and inclusion of all people across race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age and ability. To celebrate Pride Month at a time when many people are still working remotely, the campaign has released a set of virtual backgrounds that will help you brighten up your next Zoom meeting—whether you’re a member of the LGBTQ+ community or an ally who wants to show your support.

A lot has happened in the last three years. The COVID-19 pandemic, the rise in racist violence and hate incidents, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, inflation, instability, the rapidly changing job market—all of these issues have exacerbated a growing mental health crisis and also made many employees and potential hires rank mental health support and benefits highly on the list of what they value in their workplace.

Over the last couple of years, many of us have grown even more reliant on digital platforms for connection and community. How we communicate on an interpersonal level, however, doesn’t always correlate with how we want to hear from the companies and organizations we follow on social media, especially in times of crisis.

It can be challenging as a college student to imagine a career beyond roles that reflect the exact title of your major. For many students also living their college experience amidst the pandemic, a national racial reckoning, global humanitarian crisis and increasing climate concerns, it can be even more perplexing to consider how you might discover a career that allows you to have a real positive impact on the world we’re inheriting.

The NCAA has long barred student athletes from being paid “to advertise, recommend or promote directly the sale or use of a commercial product or service of any kind.” That is, until June 21, 2021, when the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the NCAA cannot stop student athletes from pursuing name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals or other financial opportunities. This decision marks a decisive turning point in the organization’s 115-year history.

Since the launch of our COVID-19 Vaccine Education Initiative, which includes more than 300 cross-sector partners and is the largest and most urgent communications effort in American history, we’ve deployed what we’ve called an air game and a ground game. What we mean is that we’re going big and broad with our messaging, in classic Ad Council fashion (the air game), and we’re also going deep into communities and finding new ways to engage with the people on the corner—the family doctors, the trusted pastors and the local pharmacists (the ground game). In other words, it’s not just about major tech companies, brands, government agencies, celebrities and influencers—it’s also about people like Cory Moskowitz at TransPromotion, a mobile advertising company.

June 19th is the anniversary of the emancipation of enslaved people in Galveston, Texas in 1865, which became a symbol of the end of slavery in America. This year, a 5,000-square-foot mural was unveiled at the Galveston location where Union General Gordon Granger read the orders that freed more than 250,000 people.

Just because Black History Month is drawing to a close doesn’t mean education about Black history should. We thought we’d take this moment to round up some valuable partners, resources and collaborators that may inspire you or your organization to elevate Black voices through your work. Let’s commit to making every month Black History Month.