The Advertising Council, commonly known as Ad Council, is an American nonprofit organization that produces, distributes, and promotes public service announcements or PSAs on behalf of various sponsors, including nonprofit organizations, non-governmental organizations and agencies of the United States government.

The Ad Council distributes the advertisements to a network of 33,000 media outlets—including broadcast, print, outdoor (e.g., billboards, bus stops), and Internet—which run the ads in donated time and space. Media outlets donate approximately $1.8 billion to Ad Council campaigns annually. If paid for, this amount would make the Ad Council one of the largest advertisers in the country.

Beyond advertisements across broadcast, print, and digital, campaign efforts often include virtual panels, coalition building, and information sharing.

In 2020, the Ad Council coordinated with partners across government, media, tech, and health to disseminate messaging about social distancing, wearing masks, and staying home when possible to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. In February 2021, the Ad Council announced the COVID-19 Vaccine Education initiative in partnership with COVID Collaborative and more than 300 partners.

Historians have criticized the Ad Council as "little more than a domestic propaganda arm of the federal government."

The organization was conceived in 1941, and it was incorporated as The Advertising Council, Inc., on February 26, 1942. On June 25, 1943, it was renamed The War Advertising Council, Inc. for the purpose of mobilizing the advertising industry in support of the war effort for the ongoing Second World War. Early campaigns encouraged enlistment to the military, the purchase of war bonds, and conservation of war materials.

Before the conclusion of World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt requested that the Ad Council continue its work during peacetime. On February 5, 1946, The War Advertising Council officially changed its name back to The Advertising Council, Inc., and shifted its focus to issues such as atomic weapons, world trade and religious tolerance. In 1945, the Ad Council began working with the National Safety Council.

U.S. presidents subsequent to Roosevelt have also supported the Ad Council's work. In the 1950s, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and General Dwight D. Eisenhower appeared in the Ad Council's anti-communism ads. In the 1980s First Lady Nancy Reagan collaborated with the Ad Council on the “Just Say No” anti-drug campaign.