Peace Corps

1961 - 1991



"The Toughest Job You'll Ever Love."



In 1961, many Americans didn't understand President Kennedy's Peace Corps program. To that end, The Ad Council and ad agency Young & Rubicam developed a campaign that captured the spirit and the nobility of purpose of the program. Ad agency Ted Bates & Co. created the slogan that conveyed its hardship and rewards -- "The Toughest Job You'll Ever Love." The ads challenged young people and began attracting volunteers to the program almost immediately. In 1962, shortly after the campaign began, more than 30,000 people applied to the Peace Corps. By 1965, more than a thousand people a week were clipping and mailing coupons from the ads, and by 1991, 30 percent of current Peace Corps volunteers were reached through the Ad Council's recruitment campaign.

