For the first time in its 80 years of existence, the non-profit Ad Council is branching beyond its impactful public service spots into long form storytelling. The Ad Council has formed Ad Council Entertainment in partnership with Sugar23, the media company founded by Michael Sugar, producer of Spotlight and 13 Reasons Why.
In an interview, Sugar and Ad Council President/CEO Lisa Sherman said their ambitions are lofty. They would like to create scripted films and TV programming that lean into social impact issues that can change culture. They hope to fill a gap left by the demise of Participant, a backer of Spotlight, the film about the Catholic Church scandal in Boston that Sugar produced and which won Best Picture. That company was started by Jeff Skoll to generate issue-oriented entertainment. Participant left a trail of films including Oscar winners An Inconvenient Truth, Green Book and Spotlight, before pulling out of that lane. Its dedication to change agent storytelling hasn’t been replaced.
“Storytelling has always been central to the Ad Council’s mission,” said Lisa Sherman, who leads non profit Ad Council efforts that are responsible for over $1 billion in donated media placements annually. Their significant spots that have become ingrained in the culture include Smokey Bear, Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk, and the Love Has No Labels series among others.
“With Ad Council Entertainment, and this groundbreaking partnership, we can bring that mission into a new era by working with world-class producers and creators in film and TV to build emotionally resonant stories that are part of culture and move people to act,” she said. “We’re thrilled to partner with Sugar23, whose track record in both entertainment and brand storytelling makes them the perfect collaborator.”
While Sugar23 is a successful production/management company that is separately working on a disruptive venture to bring sponsors into programming and features at the inception stage, Ad Council Entertainment will be an agnostic enterprise that will engage in meaningful projects that come from any traditional Hollywood storytelling sources. Sugar23 will be a conduit for projects, using its relationships with network execs and studios, while Ad Council will use its deep roots with sponsors to help align funding.
“The intent is for us to develop shows and movies the way Sugar23 and other producers develop shows and movies, but here we will be integrating the brands early and bringing in the distributors early into these conversations,” Sugar told Deadline. “The goal is to have them air on premium outlets because they’re good enough on their own to deserve that audience. We will also be a conduit, in addition to being a producer that will serve the Ad Council with our IP. All producers are welcome in this model; everyone who wants to play is invited in. It’s not like Sugar23 will be the producer of all things Ad Council Entertainment. Not at all. Our hope is that we do projects with Ad Council, but we really want the best of the best opportunities to float through us.”
Sugar and Sherman said they are already in the early stages of development on several projects, but wanted to firm them before going public. Three are fully formed, and at least one of them deals with the timely and topical issue of mental health.
“The issues that we’re working on, whether it’s mental health or other things, are just getting so much more complex that this new platform really allows us to go so much deeper into the storylines,” Sherman told Deadline. “There is opportunity to build relationships with characters and audiences through these stories and really have the time and the space to delve into them. We’ve been doing this work as for over 80 years in short form ads, public education, but I think we can drive even more impact with this new platform and Ad Council Entertainment.”
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