Ad Council launches ‘Out There For Us’ campaign thanking workers on front lines of COVID-19
To thank those on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ad Council has announced a new campaign designed to show gratitude for all essential workers, including doctors, delivery drivers, grocery store workers, and more. The Out There For Us initiative utilizes digital Out Of Home (OOH) advertising space and video to display messages of thanks to those continuing to leave their homes and power American society: essential workers. The campaign is an extension of the Ad Council’s ongoing national COVID-19 response efforts and features the new song “Good Job” from fifteen-time Grammy winner and global music icon Alicia Keys.
“I am honored to be a part of this beautiful message celebrating those working tirelessly through this trying time,” shares Alicia Keys. “The selflessness and hard work of our essential workers and the empathy of everyone coming together is truly inspiring. They are heroes and deserve our love and support today and everyday.”
Developed pro bono by creative agency R/GA, the OOH and video assets thank essential workers in specific professions including health workers, truck drivers, caregivers, grocers, sanitation workers, police officers and more. Thanks to donated media support from the Ad Council’s partners, the digital OOH ads are strategically placed on route to hospitals, highway road signs and outside grocery stores in cities facing heavy surges of the virus. Premiere placements include at point of care to patients and healthcare professionals through Outcome Health, a takeover within New York City’s Times Square and one of the largest OOH billboards in America, located at the junction of I-10 and 100 in Los Angeles. Digital out of home support provided by Ally Financial, Clear Channel Outdoor, Lamar Advertising Company and Vistar Media who are donating inventory, outreach and platform usage to amplify these messages of gratitude.
The video uses footage of essential workers going about their jobs, honoring them and their work to keep their communities safe. Accompanied by “Good Job” by Alicia Keys, it culminates with a call-to-action for viewers to submit a thank you message to essential workers in their own lives using the hashtag #OutThereForUs. Using technology from Pixlee, this community-created content will be aggregated and featured on OutThereForUs.com, with a select few turned into new digital OOH messaging. Imagery and footage for the video were provided at no cost to the Ad Council by Getty Images, The New York Times, UPS and Walmart.
“While many of us are isolating at home, essential workers are true heroes, bravely continuing their jobs, risking their health and safety to support their communities,” shares Lisa Sherman, president & CEO of the Ad Council. “This powerful creative from R/GA paired with ‘Good Job’ from Alicia Keys conveys our nation’s support for those extraordinary individuals that continue to keep the country moving. We’re truly grateful.”
“This pandemic continues to illuminate how critical many of the things we took for granted really are, and we wanted to give anyone the power to offer their thanks to the brave workers who’re keeping the world moving,” said R/GA Executive Creative Director, Mike Donaghey. Executive Creative Director, Chris Joakim adds, “we loved the idea that the Ad Council could help thank essential workers by not making ads, that’s what makes this different than other COVID-19 campaigns, there is no brand and the out-of-home messages aren’t meant to feel like ads – they’re all real messages of thanks from real people.”
According to research fielded by Ad Council worries about the health of frontline workers top the list of concerns around the COVID-19 pandemic in America. At the same time, data from Coping with COVID-19 shows that gratitude has been on the rise since the crisis began, with roughly one in four respondents saying there are most grateful for healthcare workers and other essential workers.
Additional partners supporting Out There For Us include Cheddar, Extreme Reach and Facebook. Since COVID-19 was first declared a pandemic, the Ad Council’s response efforts have brought together the country’s largest broadcast networks, digital and technology platforms, print and outdoor advertising and media companies and other industry leaders to ensure the American public is receiving crucial information during this unprecedented crisis. In the first four weeks, the Ad Council’s crisis response efforts received more than $140.7 million in donated, earned and social media and the messages were seen over four billion times.
