White House, Ad Council Working on Coronavirus PSAs

The White House and the Ad Council are working on a PSA campaign to help fight the spread of the coronavirus and encourage social distancing. 

That is according to a source familiar with a phone call Monday that included representatives from Viacom, CBS, Fox, ABC, NBC, and NAB. 

CNBC reported Tuesday that the Ad Council is working with the White House, the CDC, the Department of Health and Human Services and media companies to develop coronavirus-related PSAs. 

Related: NAB Launches Coronavirus PSA Campaign 

The National Association of Broadcasters has had a coronavirus PSA campaign in the field for weeks--it aired on WUSA-TV Washington at the same time this story was being written. According to top NAB communications executive Dennis Wharton, the campaign has drawn "tremendous responses from stations across the country," as well as praise from FCC Chairman Ajit Pai.

Wharton added that NAB would support whatever the White House and Ad Council come up with, which is expected to take a slightly different tack than the NAB spots. 

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.