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Underage Drinking Prevention (SAMHSA and Ad Council)

SAMHSA and Ad Council national campaign first launched in November 2005 encouraging parents to talk with their children about alcohol early, before they start drinking. A 2010 series aimed at parents of 11-15-year-olds, especially middle schoolers who had not yet begun drinking. SAMHSA later continued the effort as 'Talk. They Hear You.' (2013).

Years
2005
Country
United States
Topic
Alcohol
Asks people to
Never startTalk to someone
Strategy
Self efficacySimple instruction
Channel
PrintRadioSocial (paid)TV
Audience
Parents
Parents of children 11-15, especially parents of middle schoolers who have not started drinking.

Evidence

NoneUnknown

Sponsor (who paid)

  • Ad Council Ad Council (pro bono), campaign producer
  • Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Federal government, partner/sponsor

Credits (who made it)

Related campaigns

Sources

  1. SAMHSA and Ad Council underage drinking PSAs (eNewsPF) news · 2010
  2. More than a quarter of youth aged 12 to 20 drank alcohol in the past month (Newswise) news · 2010
  3. Establishing a dialogue between parents and teens (PSA Research Center case history) history
  4. Talk. They Hear You. celebrates 10 years (SAMHSA) sponsor

Research notes

Credits checked 2026-10-22 against fetched pages: Deutsch (SAMHSA release of 25 March 2010 on Newswise, 'Created by ad agency Deutsch Inc. through the Ad Council'; the eNews Park Forest copy shows only a teaser). Unverified (no page found that credits the agency): the agency for the November 2005 launch. The PSA Research Center case history cited in sources describes SAMHSA's own 'Talk. They Hear You.' distribution by Goodwill Communications, not the Ad Council campaign. Unclear whether the Ad Council was involved in 'Talk. They Hear You.' (2013-), which SAMHSA describes as its own STOP Act campaign; endYear left unset. Links (#82) checked 2026-10-23: Ad Council pages from the Wayback Machine (adcouncil.org's old campaign pages), the Our History timeline or its case studies; dead campaign sites point to a Wayback copy from the campaign years.

Record cases/ad-council-underage-drinking-prevention.json, updated 2026-10-23· Link to this campaign