NEW YORK, MAY 27, 2005 - They make you gasp. They make you weep. They make you smile. They make you think. Public Service Announcements, or PSAs, are the advertising industry’s contribution to improving the lives of all Americans. Celebrating the creativity that makes PSAs so memorable and the dedicated professionals who donate time, talent and effort to a cause, the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) will feature the best in public service advertising at its AICP Lecture Series on Tuesday, June 14, at The Museum of Modern Art in New York City. The event is the first half of the AICP Show & Lecture Series, an annual celebration that includes one of the most prestigious advertising awards programs in the world.

“More than in any other industry, professionals in advertising use their craft to support worthy causes and raise our awareness on a host of social issues,” said Matt Miller, president and CEO of the association that represents companies responsible for producing between 80 and 85 percent of nationally broadcast television commercials. “All advertising aims to influence you, whether it’s to buy a car or decide who to vote for. PSAs hope to sway you too, but with the benevolent goal of driving social change. They’re the industry’s way of giving something back to the people who watch all our other ads. And they’re also a demonstration of how effective advertising can be used to benefit the public.”

Dan Lindau of Crossroad Films is the 2005 AICP Show & Lecture Series Chairman. “This year's event will explore both the intent and efficacy of some of the most celebrated public service campaigns in recent years,” he said. “We’ll hear from luminaries on both the agency and client sides, and are honored to have them at the Lecture Series.”

The program, which will take the form of a TV talk show, will be moderated by Peabody- and Emmy-award winning television journalist and author John Hockenberry. Joining him to screen their commercials and discuss the genesis of great PSAs will be representatives from three not-for-profit organizations dedicated to public service advertising—The Advertising Council, the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, the American Legacy Foundation—and a corporation with an altruistic inclination—MTV.

The Advertising Council can rightfully lay claim to defining the category of the PSA from its initial start in 1942, when it told Americans that “Loose Lips Sink Ships.” Through the years it has produced thousands of PSAs on myriad issues—bringing us such famous characters as Smokey Bear, McGruff the Crime Dog and the Crash-Test Dummies—and imprinting in our memories such affecting messages as “A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste” and “Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk.” Peggy Conlon, president and CEO of The Advertising Council will share the stage with Nina DiSesa, Chairman & Chief Creative Officer, McCann Erickson New York, and member of the Ad Council Board as well as co-chair of its Campaign Review Committee, to review the Ad Council’s work and discuss its impact on America.

The Partnership for a Drug-Free America, with its roots in the advertising industry—it was started with seed money provided by the American Association of Advertising Agencies—mounts a national drug-education advertising campaign and other forms of media communication to help reduce illicit drug use in America. Hundreds of volunteers from the communications industry create and disseminate the Partnership’s work, which is supported by more than 200 corporations and companies, excluding manufacturers of alcohol or tobacco products. Stephen J. Pasierb, President & CEO, The Partnership for a Drug-Free America, and Allen Rosenshine, Chairman, BBDO Worldwide, and Vice Chairman & Executive Creative Director of the Partnership’s Board of Directors, will examine its success.

MTV Networks owns and operates the cable television programming services MTV: Music Television, MTV2, mtvU, Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite, TV Land, VH1, CMT: Country Music Television, and Spike TV, as well as The Digital Suite from MTV Networks. The network’s Public Affairs team led by Ian Rowe, and On-Air Promotions team led by Kevin Mackall, address MTV’s commitment to socially conscious issues with acclaimed campaigns such as Choose or Lose, Fight for Your Rights, and the new think MTV initiative. Rowe, Vice President of Public Affairs, and Mackall, Senior Vice President, MTV & MTV2 On-Air Promotions, will share MTV’s public service campaigns and how they aim to inform and empower viewers on the issues that matter to them most.

Located in Washington, D.C., the American Legacy Foundation® is dedicated to building a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. To accomplish its mission, the Legacy develops programs that address the health effects, social costs and addictive nature of tobacco use, including award winning counter-marketing campaigns like Circle of Friends, Great Start and the truth® campaign, designed to reach open-to-smoking youth. Dr. Cheryl Healton, President and CEO of the American Legacy Foundation and Pete Favat, Managing Partner, Group Creative Director, Arnold Worldwide, who, in partnership with Crispin Porter + Bogusky, led the creative team responsible for the edgy and effective truth® commercials will reveal the stories behind ads.

Established in 1992, in cooperation with The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, the AICP Show & Lecture Series has two parts: the morning conference and the evening Show, The Art & Technique of the American Television Commercial. The Show recognizes excellence in 24 categories of commercial filmmaking, and the honored commercials are made part of the permanent archives of MoMA’s Department of Film and Media.

Support from the AICP Show & Lecture Series sponsors helps make this event possible. Show sponsors are: Corporate Leaders—Axium, the Directors Guild of America; Eastman Kodak Company Entertainment Imaging; and Getty Images. Corporate Benefactors—AdAge’s Creativity; American Airlines; Aspen Travel; Beam TV; Blink Digital; ’boards; Company 3; International Duplication Centre, Inc.; Istros Media Corp. (IMC); Media Services; MSN; NBC Universal; rhinofx; Sacred Noise; SAG/AFTRA; SHOOT; Sony Pictures Studios; Source TV; Technicolor Entertainment Services; and Corporate Patrons—740 Sound Design; The Ad Age Group; Avid; Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism; Entertainment Partners; FastChannel Network; Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz; Hello World Communications; Lot 44; Maxell Corporation of America; Olympic Partners; Panavision International; shots; and Spontaneous.

Tickets are on sale now. Order forms are available at www.aicp.com For further information, call 212-929-3000.

Founded in 1972, the AICP represents, exclusively, the interests of United States companies that specialize in producing commercials in various media — film, video, computer — for advertisers and agencies. The association, with national offices in New York and Los Angeles as well as regional chapters across the country, serves as a strong collective voice for this $5.5 billion industry, addressing its many audiences within the advertising community, business circles and government offices; disseminating information; developing industry standards; providing education and programs; and facilitating dialogue both within its organization and among members of the AICP and their colleagues in the advertising community.