$52M ad campaign to promote vaccines: ‘It’s up to you’

A nonprofit media organization on Thursday unveiled a $52 million ad campaign to promote the safety of coronavirus vaccines in what the group called “one of the largest public education efforts in U.S. history.” 

The Ad Council said in a statement that the campaign, titled “It’s Up to You,” will run on television, radio, websites and social media in an effort to answer questions people may have on the safety and efficacy of vaccines. 

The group said the massive push includes participation from more than 300 major brands, media companies, community-based faith leaders, medical experts and “other trusted messengers.”

It listed Adobe, Facebook, Google, YouTube, the NAACP, NBCUniversal and ViacomCBS among its partners, as well as public figures like actor John Leguizamo and doctor and CNN medical reporter Sanjay Gupta. 

While the campaign thus far has raised more than $50 million, the nonprofit organization expects to promote upwards of half a billion dollars in value in donated media, talent and other resources.

The campaign’s main message is that once everyone is given the most accurate information on coronavirus vaccines, it is “up to you” on whether to get vaccinated and help the country defeat the virus. 

In one of the video ads posted on social media Thursday, the Ad Council tells viewers that it’s “normal” to have questions.

“The fact is the vaccines are safe and effective. They’re going to save lives,” a narrator adds, telling viewers to visit GetVaccineAnswers.org for more information on the safety, approval and distribution of the inoculations. 

The ad ends with videos of people gathered maskless at a party and a woman hugging a loved one at an airport, with the narrator of the ad saying, “Getting back to the moments we miss starts with getting informed.” 

“It’s up to you,” the narrator adds. 

In partnership with @theCOVIDCollab, today we are proud to announce the creative platform for our COVID-19 vaccine education initiative, “It’s Up To You,” the largest and most critical communications effort in our nation’s history. pic.twitter.com/KfSZAYufUY

— adcouncil (@AdCouncil) February 25, 2021

PJ Pereira, a co-founder of Pereira O’Dell, an ad agency that volunteered its services for the campaign, said in a statement that the effort “is not only the most important campaign of our generation, but it needs to be the largest, too.”

The Ad Council cited a study published by Ipsos Public Affairs this month that revealed that approximately 40 percent of Americans have not yet decided if they will get vaccinated as soon as the inoculations are available to them. 

Lisa Sherman, president and CEO of the Ad Council, said in a statement that the group is “listening to America’s top questions, understanding their concerns and working to educate and empower people across the country — particularly communities of color who have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic — so they can make an informed choice about vaccination for themselves and for their families.” 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 45.2 million people have already received the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine as of Wednesday, with about 20.6 million already fully inoculated with the required two doses.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story misstated the size of the ad campaign. While the Ad Council expects to promote upwards of half a billion dollars in value in donated media, talent and other resources, the current size of the ad campaign is $52 million.