AD Council Launches Campaign To Encourage Parents To Be More Involved In Schools.

The Advertising Council, in partnership with National PTA (Parent Teacher Association), announced today the launch of new public service advertisements (PSAs) designed to encourage parents to become more involved in their children’s school and education. Created pro bono by ad agencies J. Walter Thompson-Chicago and Mendoza Dill on, the campaign targets English and Spanish-speaking parents of school-age children. The English-language television PSAs, directed by actor James Woods, feature various celebrities including actors Chewy Chase and Lou Diamond Phillips. All of the PSAs are being distributed to coincide with the back-to-school season.

In the United States, there are an estimated 50 million children enrolled in public school. According to National PTA, while many parents support learning at home, only one in four parents are actively involved in their children’s schools. That number shrinks to one in nine among working parents whose schedules often present additional challenges. Studies have shown that parent involvement in a child’s education leads to higher grades and test scores, better attendance, increased motivation, better self-esteem, higher graduation rates and a greater likelihood of pursuing a post secondary education.

Launched in December 2003, the campaign issues a national call to parents to find out how they can become actively involved in their children’s education and schools. The new television, radio, newspaper, magazine, outdoor and Internet PSAs are designed to increase awareness of the benefits of parent involvement and encourage parents to visit the website or call the toll-free number to find practical ways to help their children succeed.

“Parental involvement is fundamental to a child’s success in school and in life,” according to Peggy Colon, President & CEO of The Advertising Council. “The first round of work truly resonated with parents and I believe this new advertising is equally compelling and effective. I am confident that the ads will be generously supported by the media, but more importantly, they will encourage more parents to become engaged in their children’s school and education.”

Created by J. Walter Thompson and directed by Woods, the new English-language television PSAs feature actors Chase and Phillips, and director Penny Marshall. The spots continue the successful strategy of the first PSAs, with each featuring a celebrity that presents viewers with a quiz about their pop culture knowledge. The final question of the quiz tests the viewers’ knowledge of their own kids’ school-questioning if parents may be more familiar with pop culture and celebrities than with what is occurring in their kids’ schools. The PSAs end with the line, “Know What Really Matters. Know about your kid’s school and know about your kid.”

“Many parents don’t realize that they can increase their child’s success in school just by visiting their classroom or by keeping in touch with their teacher. Our partnership with the Ad Council enables us to reach those parents with the message that parent involvement really matters,” said National PTA President Linda Hedge. “Whether parents can find a few minutes a week, an hour a month, or can volunteer only once a year, their child and school will benefit.”

“The new print and poster ideas for PTA are insightful, simple and stark; designed to confront parents with the painful truth that the janitor or school lunch lady may know more about their kid’s lives than they do,” said Graham Wood all, EVP, Executive Creative Director for JWT Chicago. “This is a hard-hitting message, designed to motivate parents to participate more in their kids’ activities.”

All of the PSAs direct parents and caregivers to find out 100 ways to get more involved in their children’s school and education by calling 800-307-4PTA or visiting WWW To view the PSAs, please visit WWW/campaigns/national_pta.

The Spanish-language PSAs, created pro bono by Mendoza Dill on, include radio, newspaper, magazine, Internet and out of home advertising. The ads use a slightly different approach to demonstrate how simple it can be for parents to get involved in their child’s school. The PSAs encourage parents to “Visit. Participate. Collaborate. Share.” and “Be a 4.0 parent.”

Per the Ad Council model, the PSAs will be distributed to 28,000 media outlets nationwide and will run and air in advertising time and space that is donated by the media. In just the first three months of the campaign, the campaign received more than $11.5 million in donated media support.

For more information at http://www.adcouncil.org