The annual Ad Council Public Service Award Dinner, the organization’s largest fundraising event, focused on its wide reaching mental health initiative and the art of giving back as it honored Walmart president and CEO Doug McMillon for his corporate citizenship.
McMillon was given the Public Service Award for his contributions to corporate citizenship, including Walmart’s support for the Ad Council’s campaign “Welcoming Immigrants,” the wide-reaching Covid-19 Vaccination Education Initiative and additional efforts.
The dinner was co-hosted by co-anchor of ABC News/Nightline, Juju Chang, and anchor of ESPN’s SportsCenter Face to Face, Hannah Storm. It raised a record-breaking $7 million to support the Ad Council and its national social impact campaigns.
The evening, which was attended by top agency, media and technology executives, recognized the individuals and organizations who support the Ad Council and its efforts. This year’s dinner theme was “Face Forward, Meet the Moment” and was co-chaired by Jacki Kelley, Ad Council chair and CEO of dentsu Americas, and Ad Council board member William White, CMO of Walmart.
“We must use our collective powers and resources to tackle the most pressing social issues. That is how we can meet this moment,” said Lisa Sherman, president and CEO of the Ad Council said at the event. “Through the dinner and work we do every day at the Ad Council, our aim is to inspire the industry—and people across the country—to unite and bring purpose to everything we do.”
Most touching were the stories of the people featured in the year’s campaigns. Cecilia Marie Patterson, a mental health advocate and tattoo artist, shared her story of coping with mental health issues and helping other veterans through tattooing. LaShana Lewis, chair of consulting firm Opportunity@Work STARs Advisory Council, showed that those who don’t have traditional four-year degrees can be leaders.
Ron Holden, the founder of Ride for Black Lives, talked about bringing people together with a peaceful message of love and unity. Sandy Connolly and Ngoc Nguyen displayed that openly accepting immigrants and helping them gain U.S. citizenship is good for everyone.
The entertainment for the evening was a rousing show by the Detroit Youth Choir, which competed on “America’s Got Talent,” reaching second place and will appear in a new show on Disney+.
The Detroit Youth Choir performs at the Ad Council Dinner.
Platinum sponsors for the evening included agency networks IPG and WPP, with gold sponsors including dentsu, GroupM and Publicis Groupe.
Walmart has been an Ad Council supporter since 1986, including supporting Workforce Readiness, a program helping people of all ages, experiences and backgrounds develop their skills for the rapidly changing job market. Walmart has also donated millions in media time and space across its platforms including Walmart.com and on in-store checkout screens. Under McMillon’s leadership, Walmart has established a debt-free college program and an expanded parental leave policy. The company also launched Project Gigaton, a platform to collaborate with suppliers and support them on addressing climate change, with an initial goal of reducing or avoiding one billion metric tons of emissions worldwide by 2030.