Since 1941, the USO has rallied civilians to keep our military connected to family, home, and country. But today there’s a widening gap between military and civilian life. The USO’s “What Does It Take” public service ad brought the service member experience home again and connected it to the comfort and care that every American can provide.
The USO needed to make the service member experience relevant to the public, especially the millennials who will be the next generation of USO supporters. At the same time, the USO needed to powerfully convey its impact on the lives of service members and their families, from recruitment to deployment and transition back to civilian life — and inspire new audiences to donate and volunteer.
The “What Does It Take” PSA cinematically depicts the enduring sacrifice of service members and military families — and the USO’s presence every step of the way, at home and abroad. Through client collaboration and creative testing, Reingold produced the PSA on an aggressive timeline and maximized its impact by repurposing photos and video for social media assets, optimized for each channel.
“What Does It Take” was the most valuable PSA in USO history. In 2018, it earned: 93,874 PSA airings, 1.6 billion impressions, and $82 million in equivalent paid media value.
