Agency Exec's Pet Project Aims to Save Public Schools

So what happens when an ad exec is unhappy with what he sees around him? He gets everyone in his agency to get behind his pet project for pro bono account work. And that's just what Paul Venables, founder of San Francisco's Venables Bell & Partners did when he became upset of the plight of public schools in Marin county California.

Driving around Marin you'd not necessarily realize there were many problems. It's a very upscale and beautiful area but the state has cut $55 million in school aid and things are not going so well on the public school front.

Enter Paul Venables and his agency. VB&P created Motrin Mom-style video and print ads that appeal to area resident to join the cause and do their part to support the public schools. The campaign is called SchoolsRule.

Explaining the campaign, Venables said, "Public education today is not free. Communities now, more than ever, need to fill in the gap between what the state pays and the reality of what it costs to educate a child. In Marin, we're doing something about it. Unlike typical school fundraising efforts, SchoolsRule doesn't talk about the doom and gloom of declining funds or sugar coat the issue; rather, this work aims to ignite a discussion of the real problems facing Marin schools and the effects budget cuts could have on the community - from retirees to businesses to even those parents who send their kids to private schools."

Ads urge people to volunteer their time, make donations, offer insight and. generally give a damn about the importance of public schools and their place in shaping a community.