Jaguar underwrites ad campaign for school counselors. (Public Relations).

Talk about finding yourself in the driver's seat. When he wrote to Jaguar North America explaining how the car manufacturer's television ad perpetuated an outdated, derogatory stereotype of school counselors, Richard Wong didn't know what to expect. As executive director of the American School Counselor Association, Alexandria, Virginia, however, he believed it was important to set the record straight by underscoring the important role that today's school counselors play in helping students cope with societal stresses and realize their potential. What's more, he suggested that ASCA and Jaguar work together to promote a positive image of the profession. The ad, which showed a Jaguar racing across a desert, featured this caption: "Your school counselor said you'd never amount to anything. Your school counselor drives a minivan."

Wong's letter led to a face-to-face meeting with Jaguar officials within days. But even before that meeting, Jaguar

* canceled the television ad;

* put the wheels in motion to cease an accompanying print ad campaign once existing contracts had been honored; and

* assigned its own advertising agency--Young and Rubicam, New York City--the task of creating a series of public service print ads to promote a positive image of the school counseling profession. In fact, a Young and Rubicam team participated in the initial daylong meeting. Offering a solution rather than just complaining about the ad made all the difference in how the Jaguar situation evolved, believes Wong, who says he learned a lot from the experience. "If a company or other organization is portraying your profession poorly, you really need to stand up for it. Offer some concrete suggestions for action, We [ASCA] offered Jaguar a solution: working together to promote the positive aspects of the profession. Jaguar didn't have to even think about what they were going to do [in response to the outcry over its ads]."

Wong believes that ACSA's series of five new public service advertisements (see sample) will increase awareness of counselors' role in the school community and help eradicate the dated stereotype of counselors as disciplinarians. "The [campaign's] message is, 'Life is a journey. You need a guide and the counselor is the guide,'" explains Wong. "Those types of messages will be very positive."

ASCA members and state associations will contact local newspapers to try to get the ads placed for free on a space-available basis. At least one state association has opted to use the ad slogan on T-shirts, while ASCA has used the ads to develop a series of posters. To view all the ads, visit www.schoolcounselor.org and click on "Lessons. For Life."