Martin Luther King Memorial Foundation Unveils Ad Campaign

WASHINGTON

Imagine what America would be like if Martin Luther King Jr. never had a dream. That is what a new public service advertising (PSA) campaign asks with a series of provocative radio, print and television advertisements unveiled last month at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. The advertising campaign will help raise support for the Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Memorial, which will be built on the National Mall.

The PSAs are the first phase of the new Build the Dream campaign launched last month by the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation to raise awareness and support for the memorial.

"These ads illustrate how much progress America has made and underscore how Dr. King's call to nonviolent social change made an indelible mark upon the consciousness of a country by opening the door of opportunity for all Americans," says Harry Johnson, president of the foundation. "The Memorial will educate future generations about the movement Dr. King represented and serve as a beacon for the continued fight against sanctioned injustice and inequality wherever it occurs."

Saatchi & Saatchi developed the campaign pro bono, under the auspices of the Ad Council. The PSAs depict what life in America could have been like without King's leadership. For example, one of the television PSAs shows actress Halle Berry walking into a restaurant. She is escorted to the back of the restaurant where other African Americans are dining. On the wall there is a sign that says, "Colored Section."

Similar to the television PSAs, the print and radio ads contrast modern-day experiences with exclusionary practices of the early 1960s. The Martin Luther King National Memorial will be constructed on a four-acre plot situated on the Tidal Basin across from the Jefferson Memorial. It will be the first memorial on the National Mall to commemorate an African American individual.