Academy for Educational Development

AED Awarded National Media Contract by CDC for ‘Communities Putting Prevention to Work’

--Improving Nutrition, Increasing Physical Activity, Reducing Tobacco Use Are Key Goals--

Washington, D.C., July 8, 2010—AED has been awarded a $28 million contract by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop a National Prevention Media Initiative to address the two leading preventable causes of death: obesity and tobacco use.

The media campaign, to be created in collaboration with AED’s partner, advertising agency Campbell-Ewald (C-E), will support the local efforts of 44 communities working to improve nutrition, increase physical activity, and reduce tobacco use as part of Communities Putting Prevention to Work, an initiative funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

“For the first time in our history, today’s children may have a shorter life expectancy than their parents,” said John Strand, vice president and director of the AED Center for Social Marketing and Behavior Change. “Most people know what healthy choices they should be making for themselves and their families, but the environment in which they live can make these choices very difficult or even impossible to implement.”

“The campaign we create, together with the local on-the-ground efforts, will help improve access to healthy foods and safe recreational opportunities in communities throughout the country and make tobacco use more difficult and easier to quit.”

AED, a nonprofit social change organization based in Washington, DC, and ad agency C-E, based in Detroit, Michigan, bring extensive health and social marketing and communications experience to this project.  AED supports CDC’s national campaign to increase influenza vaccination, “The Flu Ends With U”; the National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research; the National Tobacco Cessation Collaborative; and the Youth Tobacco Cessation Collaborative. And, C-E created the “Thrive” campaign for Kaiser Permanente, which resulted in a behavioral shift in the health care industry by turning passive consumers into engaged advocates for health and wellness.

The efforts of AED and C-E will complement and support the work being achieved by the local communities, through technical assistance and earned and paid media messaging that increases awareness and support for policy and environmental changes that make healthy choices more possible and realistic. “We look forward to creating a dynamic campaign that will ignite a movement and give people the tools and resources they need to implement positive change within their communities,” says Kathleen Donald, C-E Managing Director.

In addition to developing a branded campaign for CDC, a portion of the media contract will support production of advertising for First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign aimed at preventing childhood obesity by helping parents make healthy family choices, creating healthier schools, increasing opportunities for physical activity, and improving access to healthy and affordable food.

About AED

AED is a nonprofit organization working globally to create enduring solutions to critical problems in health, education, social and economic development.  Collaborating with partners throughout the world, AED develops and implements ideas that change lives through more than 300 programs in all 50 U.S. states and more than 150 countries.

About C-E

C-E (Campbell-Ewald) is one of the nation’s largest advertising, direct and digital communication agencies, with offices in Detroit, Los Angeles, San Antonio, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, New York, and Washington, D.C. A part of The Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG), C-E partners with a score of national brands, including Alltel Wireless, Carrier, General Motors, Ghirardelli, Kaiser Permanente, Olympic Paints and Stains, OnStar, Remington Arms, USAA, United States Environmental Protection Agency, United States Mint, United States Navy and the United States Postal Service.  For more information on C-E, visit www.c-e.com.

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