American Cancer Society Launches Major Brand Revitalization Effort to Help Broaden Consumer Understanding and Connections

"The American Cancer Society's community presence is often best felt through Relay For Life, the largest global grassroots movement and cancer fundraiser that involves more than 3.5 million participants celebrating people who have battled cancer, remembering loved ones lost, and fighting back to end a disease that has taken too much," Fontham added. "The money raised through Relay has enabled the American Cancer Society to play a role in nearly every major cancer breakthrough in recent history. As we celebrate the 25th birthday of Relay For Life this year, it's critical now more than ever that Relay participants understand the role they play in creating a world with more birthdays."

The brand revitalization effort includes a major national advertising campaign that launches on April 21 on television programs, including "Good Morning America," the "Today" show, "20/20," "60 Minutes," "The View," "CSI," "Amazing Race," "Dancing with the Stars," "Extreme Makeover Home Edition," and on cable channels including USA Network, Discovery Health, Hallmark, TLC, HLN and SoapNet; in print publications including Better Homes & Gardens, O-The Oprah Magazine, Health, Family Circle, Cooking Light, Woman's Day, Ladies' Home Journal, Prevention and Essence; and with a large online presence, including ads on WebMD, AOL, Federated Media blogs, epicurious, Yahoo! and Evite.

The American Cancer Society will maintain its historic advertising funding levels of less than two percent of overall revenues for this new effort. The new campaign invites the public to visit morebirthdays.com to join the movement to create a world with more birthdays. Visitors can declare the American Cancer Society the official sponsor of their birthday, spread the word via a Facebook application, visit a birthdays blog and send e-cards to friends and family. The campaign will also feature a significant public relations component.

About the American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society combines an unyielding passion with nearly a century of experience to save lives and end suffering from cancer. As a global grassroots force of more than three million volunteers, we fight for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. We save lives by helping people stay well by preventing cancer or detecting it early; helping people get well by being there for them during and after a cancer diagnosis; by finding cures through investment in groundbreaking discovery; and by fighting back by rallying lawmakers to pass laws to defeat cancer and by rallying communities worldwide to join the fight. As the nation's largest non-governmental investor in cancer research, contributing more than $3.4 billion, we turn what we know about cancer into what we do. As a result, more than 11 million people in America who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will be celebrating birthdays this year. To learn more about us or to get help, call us any time, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org.