Tradition Eleven
Attraction carries the message without turning a member into the message
“Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films.”
Tradition Eleven joins two ideas: how A.A. relates to the public and how members identify themselves in public media. It allows accurate information and cooperation while guarding against publicity built around personalities.
Read the complete Tradition Eleven essay pages 183–186Attraction
Let experience and accurate information be visible
A.A. is not a secret society. Members carry the message in personal contact, groups make meetings findable, and public information committees cooperate with professionals and media. People must be able to learn that A.A. exists and what it offers.
Attraction does not mean silence. It means offering information and lived example without guarantees, celebrity endorsement, competitive claims, or pressure.
Promotion
Avoid selling A.A. through personalities
A public campaign centered on a famous, authoritative, or especially successful member can make one person’s reputation appear to validate A.A. It can also make that person’s later behavior appear to discredit the Fellowship.
The Tradition redirects attention from praise of members toward the availability of A.A. and the recovery experience members share.
Identity
When presented publicly as an A.A. member, protect the full name and recognizable face. First name and last initial are the media convention requested by A.A.
Voice
Describe personal experience as one member. No professional title, service position, or length of sobriety makes one person the voice of A.A.
Medium
Although the short form names press, radio, and films, current A.A. guidance applies the same public-level principle to television and the internet.
Information
Groups and service committees may publicize facts: what A.A. is, where it is available, how to contact it, and what visitors can expect.
Cooperation
A.A. does not seek sensational publicity, but it cooperates with responsible media and professionals who help the public obtain accurate information.
Responsibility
A.A. appreciates media protection, yet official material places responsibility on members to maintain anonymity. Address the issue before an interview or recording is released.
A policy built from early experience
The Tradition Eleven essay traces A.A.’s movement from early public enthusiasm toward a settled policy of attraction and personal anonymity. It describes members who sought publicity, the risks of ambition and self-appointment, and the important cooperation of editors who withheld member names and pictures.
The essay concludes that the Tradition is more than public relations. It is a practical reminder that personal ambition has no place in A.A. and that each member helps guard the Fellowship.