Video: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council Launch National Campaign to Help Prevent the Spread of the H1N1 Flu Virus

Video: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council Launch
National Campaign to Help Prevent the Spread of the H1N1 Flu Virus

NEW YORK, Oct. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen
Sebelius announced today that the Department of Health & Human Services is
joining with the Ad Council to launch a series of national television public
service advertisements (PSAs) designed to encourage Americans to take steps to
protect themselves from the 2009 H1N1 flu virus. The ads are designed
specifically to reach children, parents, pregnant women and young adults. A
second series of PSAs, aimed at encouraging high-risk populations to get the
H1N1 vaccination, is launching in late October.

To view the Multimedia News Release, go to:
http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/adcouncil/40486/

Included in the public service advertisements being released today are new
spots featuring characters from the popular Sesame Street and the winning
spots from the recent 2009 Flu Prevention PSA Contest sponsored by the
Department of Health and Human Services.

The Ad Council is distributing the following PSAs nationwide today and the ads
will be supported in airtime donated by television stations nationwide. The
spots will also be available at flu.gov, the government's one-stop website for
all the latest information on both seasonal and H1N1 flu:

-- Young Adults: The winning PSA video from the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services national 2009 Flu Prevention PSA Contest on YouTube
(featuring the "hip hop doc"), along with four additional videos from
the contest, will aim to reach those ages 17 to 24. More than 50,000
votes were cast for the contest. The PSAs are available in :30 and :60
lengths and include a Spanish-language spot.
-- Parents and Pregnant Women: Produced by the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services, a new series of TV ads featuring Olympic Gold
Medalist Jackie Joyner Kersee, singer Marc Anthony and actress Amy
Ryan
aim to reach parents and pregnant women. The PSA featuring Marc
Anthony
is also available in Spanish and the ads are in :30 length.

-- Parents and Children: Designed to reach children under the age of five
and their parents, Sesame Workshop, the non-profit educational
organization behind Sesame Street, produced two new television PSAs.
Sesame Street's Elmo and Rosita have a new song teaching children the
proper way to sneeze while Elmo and Luis talk to parents about the
importance of creating a plan to keep their children home from school
if
they get sick. These messages build on a PSA Sesame Workshop released
with HHS and the Ad Council earlier this year which explained the
importance of practicing healthy habits this flu season. The PSAs are
available in English and Spanish and are :30 lengths.

"While getting a flu vaccine is the best way for Americans to protect
themselves and their families from the flu, right now as we wait for the H1N1
vaccine to get distributed out into local doctors offices and sites across the
country, there are critically important things that Americans can be doing
right now to keep their friends and family healthy and safe and to prevent the
spread of flu," said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
"These new prevention PSAs will help us get the word out about what to do
about the flu. Fighting the flu is a shared responsibility between all of us
and we are so grateful to all those who helped create these wonderful new
messages. We are hopeful that Americans will spread these new PSAs virally and
use to them help stop the spread of H1N1 and seasonal flu."

The H1N1 flu virus is contagious and spreads person-to-person the same way
that seasonal influenza does. The virus has quickly spread worldwide and in
June 2009 the World Health Organization declared a global H1N1 flu epidemic.

After a summer of elevated influenza activity levels, the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention recorded as many flu cases in September as it does when
flu season normally peaks later in the fall and winter.

Children, young adults under 24, pregnant women and adults 25-64 with
underlying health conditions, like asthma, are more susceptible to falling ill
to the H1N1 flu and are at higher risk for serious medical complications,
including hospitalization and death.

To date millions of American people have gotten the H1N1 flu virus and more
than 600 have died since the spring from H1N1 flu-related complications;
including children and pregnant women.

The new PSAs focus on the importance of providing Americans with accurate
information on the simple steps they can take to help prevent the flu. The
PSAs encourage audiences to visit www.flu.gov to get more information on how
to stay healthy.

"Since the outbreak of the H1N1 flu, many Americans have expressed concern
about how they can protect themselves from being infected," said Peggy Conlon,
president and CEO of the Ad Council. "We are proud to continue our
longstanding partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services for
these critical PSAs that will educate Americans about steps they can take to
stay healthy."

The Ad Council has been partnering with the U.S. Department of Health & Human
Services to develop PSA campaigns that address critical health issues since
the 1950s. Their successful collaborations have included public service
messages about the polio epidemic, drug abuse and, more recently, obesity
prevention.

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
The Department of Health and Human Services is the United States government's
principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing
essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help
themselves. HHS is leading the medical response for the federal government for
the H1N1 flu pandemic. The department includes more than 300 programs,
covering a wide spectrum of activities, including medical and social science
research, preventing outbreak of infectious disease, including immunization
services, assuring food and drug safety, welfare, and Medicare and Medicaid.

The Advertising Council
The Ad Council (www.adcouncil.org) is a private, non-profit organization that
marshals talent from the advertising and communications industries, the
facilities of the media, and the resources of the business and non-profit
communities to produce, distribute and promote public service campaigns on
behalf of non-profit organizations and government agencies in issue areas such
as improving the quality of life for children, preventive health, education,
community well-being, environmental preservation and strengthening families.

Sesame Workshop
Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit educational organization that revolutionized
children's television programming with the landmark Sesame Street. The
Workshop produces local Sesame Street programs, seen in over 140 countries,
and other acclaimed shows to help bridge the literacy gap including The
Electric Company and Pinky Dinky Doo. Beyond television, the Workshop produces
content for multiple media platforms on a wide range of issues including
literacy, health and military deployment. Initiatives meet specific needs to
help young children and families develop critical skills, acquire healthy
habits and build emotional strength to prepare them for lifelong learning.
Learn more at www.sesameworkshop.org.

SOURCE The Ad Council

Ellyn Fisher, The Ad Council, +1-212-984-1964, efisher@adcouncil.org; or HHS,
Office of Public Health and Science, Public Affairs Office, +1-202-205-0143;
or Pam Hacker, Sesame Workshop, +1-212-875-6225,
pam.hacker@sesameworkshop.org