Ad Council Looks to Get Young Adults Strolling Instead of Scrolling with Covid Collaborative Spots

As part of its COVID-19 Vaccine Education Initiative, the Ad Council and COVID Collaborative today announced dedicated efforts speaking to young adults about the COVID-19 vaccines, now that vaccine eligibility has been expanded nationwide to Americans 12 and older. With significant support from leading technology and media platforms, influencers and organisations, the efforts aim to address vaccine hesitancy specific to young adults ages 18-29 across the country.

Recent research from the Ad Council revealed that while young adults largely believe in the importance of vaccines, they have ongoing hesitancy about the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines. Approximately 55 percent of young adults are unsure or disagree that the benefits of COVID vaccines outweigh the risks, a statistic that has remained unchanged over the last few months. Key concerns among this demographic include the perceived rush of vaccine development and lack of long-term data to help inform their decision, as well as worries around whether the vaccines will have an impact on fertility. Taking these factors into account, nearly one-third of young adults are taking a 'wait and see' attitude about the vaccines, despite being eligible for vaccination. 

“While young adults in our country understand the importance of the COVID-19 vaccines, nearly half have questions that they need answered before making their decision and that’s where our campaign can make an impact,” said Lisa Sherman, president and CEO of the Ad Council. “We’re grateful for the immense support of our partners, who are leveraging their platforms in creative and innovative ways to help young adults get the facts they need to make an informed decision about the COVID-19 vaccines.”

Creative agency JOY Collective, who has been working to adapt the 'It’s Up To You' platform with content specifically developed to reach and resonate with the Black communities, has created two new PSAs directed at Black young adults. Highlighting how young people can get back to the moments and activities they miss most, like seeing friends at college or at concerts, the PSAs address the top questions facing Americans aged 18-29, driving viewers to GetVaccineAnswers.org to learn more.

In addition to sharing vetted, fact-based information about the COVID-19 vaccines across these leading technology and media platforms, the American College Health Association, which represents 6,500+ health professionals across 700 college campuses, will also be supporting the Ad Council and COVID Collaborative’s COVID-19 Vaccine Education Initiative by distributing “It’s Up To You” messaging to their college networks.

The Ad Council and COVID Collaborative will also be reaching young adults through event activations, including Global Citizen’s VAX LIVE: The Concert to Reunite the World, which aired on May 8. For the Black community, the COVID-19 Vaccine Education Initiative has also partnered with organisations including the JOY Collective, Black Coalition Against COVID-19, BlackDoctor.org and the Hustlers Guild to host events specifically for Black sorority and fraternity members and alumni and HBCU students, pairing leaders in those spaces with medical experts to help answer young adults’ questions about the COVID-19 vaccines. For the Hispanic community, the COVID-19 Vaccine Education Initiative is partnering with organizations including Latinovations, Voto Latino, and LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens) to host national and regional tele-townhalls, leveraging prominent Hispanic medical experts and influencers to also reach young adults. The initiative is also leveraging the national Beauty & Barber Empowerment Center to engage thousands of Black hair stylists and barbers nationwide to share information with their customers.

These partnerships and events are part of the Ad Council and COVID Collaborative’s COVID-19 Vaccine Education Initiative and the “It’s Up To You” campaign, which includes creative assets developed by Pereira O’Dell, JOY Collective, iHeartMedia, Group SJR, Values Partnerships and other partners to ensure the American public has the latest and most accurate information about the COVID-19 vaccines. 

Leading contributors to date include Amazon, Apple, Bank of America, Cisco, CVS Health, Facebook, General Motors, Google and YouTube, the Humana Foundation, NBCUniversal/Comcast, Reckitt, Salesforce, Verizon, Walgreens and Walmart. Significant contributions have also been provided by Adobe, America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the American Heart Association, the American Medical Association, BNY Mellon, Budweiser/Anheuser-Busch Foundation, Business Roundtable, Citi, Ford Motor Company, Honeywell, JPMorgan Chase, Kaiser Permanente, the New York Life Foundation, Stanley Black & Decker, Synchrony, Target, Unilever, Wells Fargo and ViacomCBS.

“In times of national crisis, American leaders and institutions always step forward to help,” said John Bridgeland, CEO of the COVID Collaborative.  “The campaign is unleashing partners and creative talent to educate and engage young adults so they can make informed decisions about the vaccine.”