Screen for Life: National Colorectal Cancer Action Campaign

cdc.gov

Also: Screen for Life · SFL

CDC's long-running colorectal cancer screening campaign, launched March 1999, telling adults (now 45 and older) to get screened regularly. Known for donated-media celebrity TV and radio PSAs made with the Entertainment Industry Foundation's National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance, featuring Katie Couric, Jimmy Smits, Diane Keaton and Morgan Freeman.

Years: 1999–now
Reach: 20B impressions as reported
“CDC estimates PSAs generated >20 billion audience impressions worth >$246 million in donated placements through June 2017;”
Country: United States
Topic: Cancer screening
Asks people to: Start Talk to someone
Strategy: Simple instruction Testimonial
Channel: Print Radio Social (organic)TV
Audience: Adults Older adults
Men and women 45+ (50+ before the 2021 guideline change); English and Spanish.

Evidence

Self-reportedUnknown

CDC estimates PSAs generated >20 billion audience impressions worth >$246 million in donated placements through June 2017; >225 focus groups since 1999. A 2014 Health Promotion Practice study modelled benefits and costs (not retrieved).

Sponsor (who paid)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Cancer Prevention and Control Federal government, funder and creator
National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance (Entertainment Industry Foundation) NGO, PSA co-producer

Credits (who made it)

Ogilvy Public Relations PR, 1999- source
Fors Marsh Creative, 2024 source
Brunet-García Creative, 2021-2026 source

Sources

Screen for Life: at a glance (CDC) sponsor
Screen for Life: National Colorectal Cancer Action Campaign (NCCRT resource) reference
Archived Screen for Life site, 2009 archive · 2009

Research notes

Credits checked 2026-10-22 against fetched pages: Fors Marsh (Ads of the World, 'Strangers with Colons', March 2024, 'created for the brands: CDC ... and Screen for Life, by ad agency: Fors Marsh'; the testimonials launched the new Screen for Life brand). Corrected 2026-10-22: Fors Marsh role changed from strategy to creative, dated 2024, and sourced to Ads of the World; the Fors Marsh case-study page has no readable content. Find and attach the 2014 Health Promotion Practice benefit-cost study of SFL (not verified here). Meta Ad Library / Google Ads Transparency Center: search advertiser 'Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)' (Meta page 'CDC'). Further credits checked 2026-10-22 against fetched pages: Ogilvy Public Relations (PR News, 15 Oct 2007: 'Since 1999, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide has worked with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) Division of Cancer Prevention and Control on the "Screen for Life"'); Brunet-García (USAspending CDC order 75D30121F12786 'Screen for Life campaign support', Sept 2021-Mar 2026). Corrected 2026-10-22: Ogilvy dated 1999- and sourced to PR News, replacing the blocked PRovoke item; end year of Ogilvy's work not found.

Record cases/cdc-screen-for-life.json, updated 2026-10-22· Link to this campaign