Census 2000 was the first in U.S. history to use a national paid advertising campaign.

This video contains a sample of the television ads that were broadcast that year.

Targeting a general audience as well as select population groups, the ads encouraged the public to fill out their census forms.

This campaign was a key component in the success of Census 2000 - two-thirds of all households mailed back the census form that year, reversing a decades-long trend of lower response rates.