NEW YORK, August, 5 2013 – The Ad Council, the largest producer of public service advertisements (PSAs) in the U.S., announced today that its 60th Annual Public Service Award Dinner will honor AOL Chairman & CEO Tim Armstrong, and Saturday Night Live’s Seth Meyers will host. The event will be held on November 20, 2013 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.
Tim Armstrong will be presented with this year’s public service award in recognition of his personal and corporate commitment to philanthropy. In recent years Armstrong has led important philanthropic efforts such as the 9/11 “National Day of Service and Remembrance” and AOL’s annual Monster Help Day to inspire staff members to give back. Under his direction, AOL has supported every Ad Council public service campaign, including digital literacy and Internet safety, in addition to being a founding partner of the bullying prevention campaign. AOL’s corporate stewardship has been evident through its generous contributions of ad space across various web properties.
Seth Meyers is currently the head writer for NBC’s Saturday Night Live and the anchor of “Weekend Update.” In May 2013 it was announced that Meyers will succeed Jimmy Fallon on NBC’s Late Night program in the spring of 2014. Previous hosts of the Ad Council’s dinner include Conan O’Brien, Brian Williams, Jimmy Fallon, Tina Fey and Ellen DeGeneres.
Attended by more than 1,200 prominent executives from the media, advertising and corporate communities, the Public Service Award Dinner recognizes the industries and individuals who support the Ad Council and its public service campaigns. The dinner will be chaired by Debra L. Lee, the Chairman & CEO of BET Networks and the recently announced Chair of the Ad Council’s Board of Directors.
“As we mark the sixth decade of our annual dinner, it’s sure to be a stellar event,” said Peggy Conlon, President and CEO of the Ad Council. “We’re thrilled to honor Tim Armstrong for his commitment to using media and technology to benefit communities throughout the world, and we’re equally excited that Seth Meyers will be our emcee. We are looking forward to a wonderful program.”
The Ad Council has been honoring corporate leaders for their contributions to public service since 1953. The Public Service Award Dinner is the organization’s largest fundraising event. Last year’s benefit raised an unprecedented $3.4 million to support the Ad Council’s programs and was ranked by BizBash as one of the top 100 events in New York City and one of the top three advertising events of the year.
The Ad Council
The Ad Council is a private, non-profit organization with a 70-year history of marshalling volunteer talent from the advertising and media industries to deliver critical messages to the American public. Having produced literally thousands of PSA campaigns addressing the most pressing social issues of the day, the Ad Council has affected, and continues to effect, tremendous positive change by raising awareness, inspiring action and saving lives. To learn more about the Ad Council and its campaigns, visit adcouncil.org. You can also visit facebook.com/adcouncil or follow the Ad Council on Twitter @AdCouncil.
