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Ad Council Partners With Gaming Brands, Influencers To Amp Up Social Campaign Efforts

The Ad Council has announced a collaboration with several gaming companies as well as well-known gaming influencers to launch Game for Good. Collaborators include Penny Arcade, Twitch, Polaris/Maker Studios, Rooster Teeth, YouTube, 3BLACKDOT, PlayQ, Zynga and Games for Change. The effort aims to leverage games and the gaming community to increase awareness of the social issues addressed by Ad Council campaigns.

Kicking off Game for Good, the Ad Council will take its Love Has No Labels campaign to Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) West in Seattle from September 2-5, 2016. One of the largest gaming events in North America, PAX West celebrates gamer culture and is attended by thousands of gamers from across the country. The campaign aims to integrate its messages of diversity and inclusion throughout the event with two PAX panel discussions featuring SIMS Studio Senior Producers Lyndsay Pearson and Sarah Fuchs and -- the second one -- gamers Etika (Desmond Amofah), Annemunition, Ms. Vixen and Jimmy Wong, with the latter being streamed live on PAX's Twitch channel. Also, a Love Has No Labels activation in the PAX Diversity Lounge will includes a GIF booth and giveaways sponsored by Johnson & Johnson and finally, a post-panel discussions with Rooster Teeth's Mica Burton in a livestream from the Expo floor. 

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The activation will be promoted through social media using the hashtags #LoveHasNoLabels and #WeAreGamers and via the campaign and Ad Council channels.  

Of the effort, Ad Council CEO Lisa Sherman said: "To really have an impact on social issues, we need to meet people where they are spending their time and for millions across the country that's playing games online, on mobile or on consoles. We're thrilled to collaborate with the leaders in this space to co-create and integrate content that furthers our campaign messages in ways that are meaningful for the gaming community."

The effort will build upon on the Ad Council's Creators for Good program, which matches YouTube influencers with Ad Council campaigns they care about. Along with the PAX effort, the campaign will work with gaming influencers as well as publishers to reach fans of popular video game titles online and on social media. In addition, Game for Good collaborations will explore integrating campaigns into games and gaming IP into Ad Council campaigns.

On partaking in this Ad Council campaign, Rooster Teeth SVP Luis Medina said: "We're thrilled to partner with the Ad Council and lend our voice to the positive message of this campaign. As a woman of color in gaming, our host Mica Burton is a reflection of Rooster Teeth's diverse community and represents the progress we want to see in our industry. We're happy to work with this great group of partners to tell that story at PAX."

Beyond the PAX West activation, a dedicated Game for Good advisory group will work on opportunities for collaboration across different Ad Council campaigns over the course of the next 12 months, focusing on both the PC, online and console gaming audience as well as the casual gaming audience on social media and mobile platforms.

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