How Ad Council PSA's Changed America

The Social Network Show welcomes the National Crime Prevention Council Series with Co-host Michelle Boykins, Senior Director of Communications and her guest, Wendy Melillo to the February 16, 2015 episode.

Have you ever noticed at the end of a Public Service Announcement, the announcer says, "A message from the Ad Council"? Have you ever wondered who the Ad Council is and their purpose? Wendy Melillo, Associate Professor of Public Communication, Pulitzer Prize nominated reporter, and author of How McGruff and the Crying Indian Changed America tells us who the Ad Council is, what agencies and corporations create the ads and how McGruff The Crime Dog, Smokey Bear and Keep America Beautiful became embedded in American society. Hear Wendy talk about how these campaigns changed our society and the challenges faced in doing campaigns in today's digital age.

Wendy Melillo is an Associate Professor of Public Communication at American University. She teaches in the School of Communication's Strategic Communication division. Her research is focused on public service advertising. Melillo was a reporter for The Washington Post, earning a Pulitzer Prize nomination and an award from the White House Correspondents' Association for her coverage of the United Way scandal. She spent nearly a decade covering political advertising and strategic communication planning for the business publication Adweek before joining SOC.

Her first book was recently published, How McGruff and the Crying Indian Changed America. The book discusses the compelling - and sometimes controversial - story of the Ad Council and the campaigns that have become part of the nation’s collective memory.