Those ads

Posted by helen at 10:46 AM

Anyone else feel in the eye of a swirling PR-storm? The Fund for Public Schools (the private-money gathering arm of the DOE) has sponsored a swath of glossy ads showcasing progress in the public schools that would make the Mad Ave mavens plenty proud. See the ads here -- but if you watched a half-hour or more of TV last night, we're sure you've seen the new, test-score-touting ad already.

Knickerbocker SKD is the agency behind the campaign, which has been underway since 2007; according to the Fund for Public Schools, the production and media buy for this wave cost about $1 million. Beginners, they're not: Also on their client list are Mayor Bloomberg, Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau and real-estate megadeveloper Forest City Ratner.

The Fund, first headed by Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, raises private millions for education reform. But as Kathryn S. Wylde, the president of the Partnership for New York City, put it in 2005, the Mayor's own philanthropy is a powerful model. "He had a lot of chits to call in." And call he did.