Ad campaign to encourage coronavirus vaccination gets underway

The nonprofit Ad Council is overseeing an advertising campaign to encourage Americans to receive COVID-19 vaccines. The effort was announced in November and emphasizes the message: “It’s Up to You.” The initiative is being backed by more than $50 million in donated funds from companies like CVS Health, Walgreens, Walmart, Facebook, General Motors, and Amazon. The campaign will commence Thursday across television and digital video, social media, and audio platforms such as Spotify and Pandora. It also will include messaging focusing on Black and Hispanic communities. The ads and related events will feature celebrities, researchers, and faith groups. CDC experts consulted on the campaign, and CDC branding also will appear in ads. People will be directed to the website getvaccineanswers.org for the latest information on the safety and availability of COVID-19 vaccines. A recent AP/NORC poll found that approximately 1 in 3 Americans said they definitely would not or probably would not get the coronavirus vaccine. The poll showed that 57% of Black Americans said they received or planned to get the vaccine, compared with 65% of Hispanic Americans and 68% of White Americans. Ad Council researchers also found that some potential messaging approaches, such as encouraging people to be vaccinated because it is “the right thing to do,” were perceived as accusatory or pushy among surveyed groups.