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The Ad Council and the Administration for Children and Families Announce National Campaign to Encourage Adoption

NEW YORK, May 16, 2003 — The Advertising Council, in partnership with the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), a division of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, announced today the addition of a national public service advertising (PSA) campaign to its docket that will encourage adults to adopt children who are currently in the foster care system. The multi-media campaign will include television, radio, print and Internet PSAs and is scheduled to launch in the spring of 2004.

Approximately 260,000 children in the United States enter the foster care system each year. While about 60% of these children will be returned to their parents, the other 40% remain in the system. Of the more than 542,000 children in foster care in 2001, 126,000 are still waiting for someone to adopt them. Many potential adoptive parents believe that adoption is a costly and unmanageable process. However, adults are often unaware that there is little or no cost to adopt children from the foster care system. They are also not aware that adoptive parents may receive support in the form of training, financial adoption subsidy assistance and Medicaid.

Sponsored by the ACF and created pro bono by ad agency kirshenbaum bond & partners in New York, the new PSA campaign will issue a national call to-action for family-oriented Americans to adopt children by offering important, accurate information about the foster care system and the adoption process. The campaign will significantly increase awareness of the need to provide loving, permanent homes for children in the foster care system.

"Adoption provides children with a loving family which can give them the security and support that is necessary for a healthy development," according to Peggy Conlon, President & CEO of The Advertising Council. "We are proud to partner with the Administration for Children and Families and kirshenbaum bond & partners to develop a campaign that will reduce the misconceptions about adoption, and urge adults to open their hearts and homes to children in need of both."

"We are thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with The Ad Council to increase the number of children who are adopted," said Wade F. Horn, Ph.D., assistant secretary for children and families. "We look forward to working together to produce a nationwide campaign that will captivate the public and help many waiting children to find permanent, safe and loving families."

Audiences will be directed to visit www.adoptuskids.org or call a campaign-designated toll-free number to obtain the necessary information and support they will need to adopt a foster child.

"We are pleased to participate in such a worthy cause where our skills can make a difference in the world," said Jonathan Bond, Co-Chairman, kirshenbaum bond creative network.

Per the Ad Council model, all of the ads will be distributed to run and air in advertising time and space that is donated by the media.

The Administration for Children and Families
The Administration for Children and Families is responsible for a variety of activities that promote the economic and social well being of families, children, individuals and communities. Among its responsibilities are adoption and foster care, child support enforcement, welfare reform, the Head Start program, refugee resettlement, assistance to persons with developmental disabilities and Native American programs.

kbp creative network
The kb creative network is a privately held independent network of marketing communications specialty companies founded by Richard Kirshenbaum and Jon Bond, including kirshenbaum bond & partners, kbp west Dotglu, LIME Public Relations + Promotion and The Media Kitchen. Founded in 1987, the kb creative network has since grown to include more than 200 employees, offices in New York and San Francisco, and combined billings of more than $500 million. Current kb network clients include Target, USA Networks, Citibank AAdvantage, Citibank Debit Card, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Liberty Mutual, Timex, Beechnut Nutrition Corporation, PUMA, Cognac Hennessy, Unipath Diagnostics' ClearBlue Easy and ClearPlan Easy brands, Carvel, Vanity Fair Intimates brands including Vanity Fair, Vassarette, Bestform and Lily of France, The Meow Mix Company, and more. For more information please visit www.kb.com.

The Advertising Council
The Ad Council is a private, non-profit organization with a 60-year history of marshalling volunteer talent from the advertising and media industries to deliver critical messages to the American public. The Ad Council has produced thousands of public service campaigns that address the most pressing social issues of the day. Ad Council icons and slogans are woven into the very fabric of American culture - from Smokey Bear's "Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires" and McGruff the Crime Dog's: "Take A Bite Out of Crime," to the United Negro College Fund's: "A Mind is a Terrible Thing To Waste," and "Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk." The Ad Council has received more than $1 billion in donated media for its campaigns each year since 1998. To learn more about the Ad Council and its campaigns, visit www.adcouncil.org.