HHS kills celebrity Covid campaign

Source: Politico | November 18, 2020 | Dan Diamond and Adam Cancryn

IT’s OFFICIAL: HHS KILLS CELEBRITY COVID CAMPAIGN — A senior official told a House watchdog that the administration has scrapped a planned ad campaign featuring celebrities discussing Covid-19, following an internal review prompted by POLITICO stories and Democrats’ probes.

“The review has been completed,” Sarah Arbes, the HHS assistant secretary for legislation, wrote on Friday to Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), who chairs the House Oversight subcommittee on consumer and economic policy, in a letter shared with POLITICO. “The work with members of the entertainment industry conducted by Atlas Research will not continue and that contract will be canceled.”

Atlas won a $15 million contract from HHS in August to produce public service announcements with celebrities, with political appointees pushing to get the ads on air. Democrats alleged that the ad push, part of a larger $300 million campaign to “defeat despair” about coronavirus, was an effort to boost perception of Trump’s handling of the virus before Election Day.

— The Atlas-run campaign never produced a single ad, securing interviews with just three celebrities, all of whom backed out amid scrutiny.

HHS’ handpicked subcontractor, led by a business partner of HHS spokesperson Michael Caputo and which had never produced a public health campaign, also struggled to make inroads in Hollywood and meet the contract’s deadlines.

The House Oversight Committee released documents last month that found hundreds of celebrities were vetted for their political views as part of the contract. And career officials also raised concerns that Trump appointees were viewing the planned ad blitz more like a political campaign than a public health effort.

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