WHBF AND TRIBUNE BROADCASTING ARE PRESENTED 2006 ‘SILVER BELL AWARDS’

‘Project Roadblock’ Survey Results Revealed ‘Amazing Impact’
On Buzzed Driving Awareness

New York, NY (April 20, 2006) – The Ad Council today presented Tribune Broadcasting and WHBF-TV of Davenport, Iowa, with 2006 Silver Bell Awards at the TVB Annual Marketing Conference in New York.

Tribune’s award was presented by John Dooner Jr., chairman and CEO, McCann Worldgroup, and chairman of the Ad Counci, and accepted by John Reardon, president and CEO, Tribune Broadcasting. WHBF-TV’s award was presented by Robin Mayer, chief of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s office of consumer information and accepted by Philip J. Lombardo, CEO of Citadel Communications, the owner of WHBF.

The Silver Bell Award is presented annually to those media outlets that exemplify extraordinary generosity and leadership in disseminating the Ad Council's public service messages. Silver Bells are awarded across the following categories: Broadcast and Cable Television, Radio, Magazine, Newspaper, Out of Home and Internet.

The Silver Bell for an individual station was awarded to WHBF-TV of Davenport , Iowa , for its outstanding support of “Project Roadblock,” local broadcast television’s partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Ad Council to reduce drunk driving during the holiday season. Tribune Broadcasting received the broadcast group Silver Bell for displaying outstanding overall support for Ad Council initiatives.

The Ad Council, NHTSA, and TVB earlier had announced the results of a follow-up survey about “Project Roadblock.” The effort marked the debut of the “Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving” message, an evolution of the “Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk” campaign, launching exclusively on local broadcast television stations during the week of December 26, 2005 .

It was the most successful single push for the 20-year-old anti-drunk-driving effort in terms of the numbers of stations participating, number of spots aired, percent of the country covered and people reached.

“It was a stunning effort on the part of the television stations,” said TVB Executive VP Abby Auerbach, “but even more amazing was the impact.”

According to a follow-up survey, nearly 1 in 5 of all adults said they had seen or heard about the “buzzed driving” campaign , including nearly 1 in 4 men age 21-35, representing a dramatic increase from pre-Roadblock levels. Those who recalled seeing the advertising were significantly more likely to report that they had decided to NOT drive after drinking on a recent occasion (8% of those aware of the campaign vs. 3% not aware). And those with ad recall were significantly more likely to report that they had recently acted to stop an impaired friend or family member from driving impaired(18% of those aware of the campaign vs. 5% not aware).

“We had the ability to really break through to the targeted audience in a short period of time,” said Ad Council President and CEO Peggy Conlon.

“Project Roadblock” reached more than 49 million viewers during the week of December 26, 2005 . The PSAs were carried by 638 stations in 179 markets; the total estimated value of the spots aired was $3.78 million. A total of 21,167 spots (produced pro bono by Massachusetts-based Mullen Agency for the Ad Council) were broadcast during the week of December 26 through 31, 2005. By comparison, in 2004, 517 stations participated, broadcasting 18,350 spots for a total value of $3.4 million. In 2005, 133 broadcast groups participated as opposed to 98 groups in 2004. The top 103 markets were reached, as opposed to the top 61 markets in 2004.

WHBF-TV of Davenport, Iowa , the recipient of the 2006 single-station Silver Bell Award, was recognized for its commitment to fully bringing the “Project Roadblock” message to its community through multiple platforms. WHBF, a Citadel Broadcasting station, is the CBS affiliate in the Quad Cities area. The station scheduled “Buzzed Driving” PSAs so that 80% of them aired locally between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m. , and further spotlighted the message throughout its website. Early and late newscasts during the week of December 26 – January 1 provided viewers with an explanation of the program, information, interviews, and useful holiday safe-driving tips.