WASHINGTON, June 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today the Ad Council
and Project Yellow Light announced the winners of the seventh
annual Project Yellow Light scholarship competition. The contest
calls on students to create a TV, radio or billboard PSA (Public
Service Advertisement) to educate their peers about the dangers of
using mobile devices behind the wheel of a vehicle.
Experience the interactive Multichannel News Release here:
https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8345151-ad-council-project-yellow-light-stop-texts-stop-wrecks/
This year, CBS 2 New York has joined longstanding partners Clear
Channel Outdoor Americas (CCOA), iHeartMedia, Mazda North American
Operations, the National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS) and
U-Haul. The winners will be unveiled today on a digital billboard
in New York's Times Square, in
space donated by CCOA.
The 2018 contest received more than 1,600 submissions from 49
states and Washington, DC. Winners
were selected from two age categories: high school juniors and
seniors, and college students.
Project Yellow Light was established in 2007 by Julie Garner, who works at The Martin Agency,
and her family in memory of her teenage son, Hunter, who was killed
in a car crash.
Grand prize scholarships of $5,000
were awarded to high school student Lia
Senser (Louisville, NE) and
college student Victoria Williams
(Bristol, VA) and producing
partner Sarah Ropple for their video
submissions. The second-place scholarships of $2,000 were awarded to high school student
Noah Anderson (Phoenix, AZ) and college student Katie Wilkerson (Savannah, GA) and producing partner
Parker Parillo. The third-place
video scholarships of $1,000 were
awarded to high school student Andie
Rugg (Longmont, CO) and
college student Addison Reyes-Toney
(Atlanta, GA).
The billboard design prize of $2,000 each was awarded to high school student
Alison Hendricks (Ocean City, NJ) and college team Kyle Pandiscio (Franklin, MA) and Emma
Townsend (Shrewsbury, MA).
Radio winners are high school student Sarah
Pearce (Jonesboro, GA) and
college student Virginia Stephens
(Green Cove Springs, FL), who each
received $2,000.
"We're so proud of this year's winners and all Project Yellow
Light participants. The work they do to encourage their peers
not to text and drive is so important – we are incredibly thankful
for them raising their voices in this important conversation," said
Julie Garner. "And, as always, a
very special thanks to our partners who make it all happen."
Since 2011, Project Yellow Light has partnered with the Ad
Council to turn the winning submissions into PSAs that receive
nationwide exposure through 1,600 TV stations, iHeartRadio
channels, as well as over 1,000 Clear Channel Outdoor digital
billboards.
In 2016, 3,450 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes
involving distracted drivers. Teens are some of the worst
offenders; nine percent of drivers 15 to 19 years old who were
involved in fatal crashes were reported as being distracted at the
time of the crash.
All scholarships are provided by U-Haul, Mazda North American
Operations and iHeartRadio. U-Haul will generously provide all six
first-place finishers from all three contests with a moving expense
gift valid for 12 months after receipt.
A host of advertising industry executives and artists lend their
time to judging submissions. This year's panel included recording
artist and songwriter Aloe Blacc; renowned filmmaker and social
activist Kweku Mandela; DDB
Worldwide CEO and Global President Wendy
Clark; Co-Chairman and Partner of Goodby Silverstein &
Partners, Jeff Goodby; NBA CMO Pam
El, and representatives from The Martin Agency and Project Yellow
Light partners CCOA, iHeartRadio, Mazda North American Operations,
NOYS, U-Haul, and the Ad Council.
"All too often, I see families devastated by tragedies happening
on the road. I'm honored to partner with others, who feel as
strongly as I do, that bringing awareness to the true dangers
of distracted driving will save lives," said Alex Denis, award-winning journalist for CBS 2
New York. "That is our mission. And it has never been more
important."
"U-Haul congratulates this year's winners and applauds the
valuable message these creative students have shared with their
peers," said Stuart Shoen, U-Haul
executive vice president. "Our commitment to keeping U-Haul
customers and the roads safe continues to make this a great
partnership, and PYL's mission to educate and protect our children
behind the wheel continues to be important and impactful."
"Project Yellow Light is a unique campaign that gives young
people the opportunity and creative freedom to bring public
attention to the dangers of texting while driving -- an issue
facing so many of their peers. iHeartMedia is thrilled to air the
two winning spots across our network of radio stations for the
second year in an effort to help keep young radio listeners safe on
the roads," said Jessica King, Vice
President of Marketing and Communications at iHeartMedia.
"Project Yellow Light embodies a prevention through leadership
model that gives students the opportunity to positively influence
their peers around one of the biggest safety threats they face –
car crashes. NOYS is proud to support Project Yellow Light," said
April Rai, NOYS CEO.
Through the Stop the Texts. Stop the
Wrecks. campaign, the Ad Council and NHTSA have been
working together to prevent distracted driving since 2012.
Project Yellow Light
Project Yellow Light is a
film, billboard and radio scholarship competition in which high
school and college students create compelling stories persuading
their peers to develop safe driving habits. This project gives
students a voice and a role in preventing car crashes — the number
one killer of teenagers and young adults in the U.S. Project Yellow
Light was created by Julie, Lowell and Alex
Garner in memory of their son/brother, Hunter, who died
tragically in a car crash in 2007. Each year the winners receive
the Hunter Garner Scholarship.
About The Ad Council
The Ad Council is a nonprofit
organization with a rich history of marshaling volunteer talent
from the advertising and media industries to deliver crucial
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 effected, 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, like us on Facebook, follow us
on Twitter or view our PSAs on YouTube.
CBS
WCBS-TV and WLNY-TV are part of CBS Television Stations group, a
division of CBS Corporation and one of the largest network-owned
station groups in the country.
The combined strengths of CBS 2 and WLNY 10/55 provide a strong
platform for serving the entire tri-state area.
Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc.
Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc., (NYSE: CCO) is one of the
world's largest outdoor advertising companies, with more than
650,000 displays in over 35 countries across five continents,
including 43 of the 50 largest markets in the United States. Clear Channel Outdoor
Holdings offers many types of displays across its global platform
to meet the advertising needs of its customers. This includes a
growing digital platform that now offers over 1,200 digital
billboards across 28 U.S. markets. Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings'
International segment operates in 22 countries across Asia and Europe in a wide variety of formats.
More information is available at
www.clearchanneloutdoor.com
About iHeartMedia
With over a quarter of a billion monthly listeners in the U.S. and
over 131 million social followers, iHeartMedia has the largest
national reach of any radio or television outlet in America. As the
leading media company in the U.S., iHeartMedia serves over 150
local markets through 849 owned radio stations, and the company's
radio stations and content can be heard on AM/FM, on satellite, at
iHeartRadio.com, on the company's station websites and on
iHeartRadio, iHeartMedia's digital music, podcast, on demand and
live streaming radio service, available on over 250 platforms and
2,000 devices, including on digital auto dashes, tablets, wearables
and smartphones, on virtual assistants, smart speakers, TVs and
gaming consoles.
iHeartRadio offers users the country's top live radio stations,
personalized custom artist stations created by just one song or
seed artist, on demand features and the top podcasts and
personalities. The all-in-one digital service has more than 1.7
billion downloads, 110 million registered users and is the No. 1
commercial radio podcaster in the U.S.
iHeartMedia's platforms include radio broadcasting, online,
mobile, digital, social, podcasts, personalities and influencers,
live concerts and events, syndication, music research services and
independent media representation. iHeartMedia is a division of
iHeartMedia, Inc. (PINK: IHRTQ). Visit iHeartMedia.com for more
company information.
Mazda North American Operations
Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, California, and oversees the sales,
marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in
the United States and Mexico through nearly 700 dealers. Operations
in Mexico are managed by Mazda
Motor de Mexico in Mexico City. For more information on Mazda
vehicles, including photography and B-roll, please visit the online
Mazda media center at InsideMazda.MazdaUSA.com/Newsroom.
Follow MNAO's social media channels through Twitter and
Instagram at @MazdaUSA and Facebook at Facebook.com/MazdaUSA.
National Organizations for Youth Safety
NOYS was originally founded in 1995 as the Traffic Safety
Collaboration supported by funding from government agencies,
including the Department of Transportation. In 2005, NOYS became a
501(c)(3) organization and incorporated as National Organizations
for Youth Safety. With over 100 organizational members -
youth-serving nonprofits, businesses and government agencies, NOYS
works collectively to address the most prevalent causes of injury
and death among teens and young adults in the US. Learn more
at www.NOYS.org.
NHTSA
For more than four decades, the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) has served as the key federal agency charged
with improving safety on our nation's roadways. As part of the U.S.
Department of Transportation, NHTSA is working to reduce
traffic-related deaths and injuries by promoting the use of safety
belts and child safety seats; helping states and local communities
address the threat of distracted, drunk and drug-impaired drivers;
regulating safety standards and investigating safety defects in
motor vehicles; establishing and enforcing fuel economy standards;
conducting research on driver behavior and traffic safety; and
providing consumer information on issues ranging from child
passenger safety to impaired driving. For more information visit
www.nhtsa.gov.
U-Haul
Since 1945, U-Haul has been the No. 1 choice of do-it-yourself
movers, with a network of more than 21,000 locations across all 50
states and 10 Canadian provinces. U-Haul Truck Share 24/7 now
offers customers access to U-Haul trucks every hour of every day
through the self-service options on their internet-connected mobile
devices. U-Haul customers' patronage has enabled the U-Haul fleet
to grow to more than 150,000 trucks, 112,000 trailers and 40,000
towing devices. U-Haul offers more than 581,000 rooms and more than
51 million square feet of self-storage space at owned and managed
facilities throughout North
America. U-Haul is the largest installer of permanent
trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket industry and is the
largest retailer of propane in the U.S.
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