Call 1-888-NOT-2-LATE: promoting emergency contraception in the United States

In 1997, the nonprofit Reproductive Health Technologies Project and the Office of Population Research at Princeton University, together with the communications firm Elgin DDB, planned and executed a mass media campaign to advertise the Emergency Contraception Hotline and more generally to further awareness of emergency contraception as a last chance means of pregnancy prevention in the United State. We produced a variety of public service announcements (PSAs) including television and radio spots in English and Spanish and several print versions adaptable for newspapers and magazines as well as outdoor settings such as billboards, transit shelters, and the sides of buses. Working with local coalitions, we succeeded in placing the PSAs free of charge in six pilot cities. We also generated coverage about the campaign in local and national news outlets. We chronicle the development of the media campaign, discuss the challenges and obstacles faced, and conclude with a review of the principal lessons learned.