Ad Council Honors Univision with the 2018 Catalyst Award

The Ad Council presented Univision Television Station Group, part of the local media division of Univision Communications Inc. (UCI) with the 2018 Catalyst Award for its extraordinary support of the Ad Council’s public service campaigns. The recognition was given at TVBForward 2018, the Television Bureau of Advertising’s (TVB) annual leadership conference in New York City.

The inaugural Catalyst Award, previously known as the Crystal Bell Award, honors media outlets annually across all media for developing and implementing innovative and effective programs that create meaningful change for social causes.  

Univision owns or operates more than 62 stations across the U.S. and provided exceptional support for a wide range of Ad Council campaigns including Learning & Attention Issues, Fatherhood Involvement, Caregiver Assistance, Discovering Nature, and Type 2 Diabetes Prevention.

Notably, Univision Television Station Group also contributed to the success of the 2017 Project Roadblock, a six-day local broadcast TV station roadblock aimed at reducing drunk driving fatalities during the holiday season. Univision Television Station Group was the top supporter of the campaign during this highly relevant time period and helped the Ad Council and NHTSA extend the reach of Project Roadblock’s message, helping people nationwide recognize their personal signs of impairment.

“We are losing far too many friends and loved ones to drunk driving, a threat on our roads that claims more than 10,000 lives a year,” said NHTSA Deputy Administrator Heidi King. “We appreciate the ongoing support of broadcast television stations, and especially Univision Television Station Group, for helping NHTSA prevent drunk driving tragedies during the holiday season.”

“Univision Television Station Group’s support of our Buzzed Driving Prevention efforts speaks to their immense commitment to be a powerful voice for social change. We’re so pleased to recognize them for this partnership,” said Lisa Sherman, President and CEO of the Ad Council. “We’re incredibly grateful for the generous support that the local broadcast television industry provides our campaigns every year.”

“As a mission-driven company, it is our responsibility to give a platform to key organizations, such as the Ad Council, dedicated to making a difference in the lives of the communities we serve,” said Ron Estrada, Senior Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility and Community Empowerment, Univision Communications Inc. “Ad Council’s mission has helped to raise awareness on critical issues impacting our community and we are proud of the contributions our local stations continue to make to these important campaigns.”

Impaired driving between Christmas and New Year’s accounts for nearly one-third of all motor vehicle crash fatalities. Over the last fourteen years, TVB, the Ad Council and NHTSA have partnered with local broadcast television stations on Project Roadblock. Each year, between December 26 and 31, local broadcast stations voluntarily participate by airing Buzzed Driving Prevention PSAs during the concentrated six-day period, with a special push at 10 p.m. local time on New Year’s Eve. This partnership helps raise awareness of the dangers of impaired driving and has helped save lives.

Many Univision stations went above and beyond in their support by participating in the 10 p.m. New Year’s Eve activation. 2017 was a highly successful year for Project Roadblock; the initiative received widespread support from local broadcast TV stations, including nearly 67,000 placements of donated on-air, digital sub-channel, online and mobile time and space by over 1,000 TV stations reaching all 50 states, and resulting in $8.4 million of airtime over the six-day period. Since its inception in 2004, local broadcast TV stations across the nation have donated more than $67 million in support of Project Roadblock.

“We are honored to have been a part of Project Roadblock for the past fourteen years, and we know it will save even more lives in the future,” said Steve Lanzano, President and CEO of TVB. “This initiative wouldn’t happen without the exemplary efforts of Univision and other stations to make this message a priority, and it’s been fantastic to see it flourish over time.”