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With Bono (who else?) at the forefront, the ONE organization announced that the ABC and MTV Networks networks will support ONE’s efforts against poverty and AIDS by donating air time for the world premiere of a new public service announcement starring the unlikely combination of Pat Robertson, the Most Rev. Frank Griswold (presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, USA), Tom Hanks, Jamie Foxx, Cameron Diaz, Al Pacino, Penelope Cruz, Benicio del Toro, Alfre Woodard, Rita Wilson and George Clooney.
The ONE.ORG Spot, a 60-second video in support of ONE – The Campaign to Make Poverty History, will have its broadcast and cable premiere at 8:59 PM (EST) on Sunday, April 10, on all MTV Networks and MTV Radio affiliates across the world as well as during ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
On this collaboration, ONE participant Bono explains, “When you have a broadcaster like ABC put these issues on primetime TV, that’s a real sign things are on the move, treating AIDS and extreme poverty as the emergency it is.
“When you have a MTV Networks roadblocking the ONE.ORG spot, showing it at the same time on all their networks as Pat Robertson showing it on the 700 Club, that’s a great sign that people are coming together behind this emergency.
“When you have Republicans and Democrats, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Sun Microsystems getting behind this campaign — it’s not the usual suspects. We know we have an opportunity to beat AIDS and end stupid poverty in our lifetimes, this is up to us,” he said.
On ABC, the spot will air during an episode of ABC’s hit series Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, featuring the family of Patricia Broadbent, a mother who has helped three of her adopted children and many others face AIDS with hope, teaching them that life is here for the living.
MTV Networks has scheduled its first-ever PSA “roadblock” of The ONE.ORG Spot on all of its cable networks worldwide, including MTV Europe, MTV Latin America, MTV Asia, and MTV Base (the network’s new channel in Africa). The spots will be seen more than 700 times in the next month on MTV Networks in the U.S., in regular rotation for a full month beyond their April 10 premiere. The “roadblock” will also extend to BET, as well as MTV’s domestic online and radio identities, as well as MTV Network channels on XM Satellite Radio.
“The One campaign could not be a better partner for MTV Networks, as AIDS awareness and education has been a priority of our company for many years,” said Judy McGrath, MTV Networks Chairman and CEO.”I am inspired by the creativity of “The One.ORG Spot” and its message, and we are so proud to contribute the platform of our 100 channels worldwide to this incredible effort.”
ONE is an effort by Americans to fight the emergency of global AIDS and extreme poverty. The video invites viewers to visit the ONE.ORG site to learn more about the crisis and what they can do to make a difference in the fight against global AIDS and poverty. It means to recruit an initial ONE million Americans to call for more efforts to fight the emergency of AIDS and extreme poverty.
“ONE is not a celebrity cause. It’s something that people from all backgrounds and political leanings can agree on,” said Brad Pitt, who recently visited Ethiopia and South Africa with ONE: The Campaign to Make Poverty History. “There are no sides to take; there’s no argument here. There’s a wildfire out there and we have the ability to put it out. What are we going to do?”
The ONE.ORG Spot was produced by Jon Kamen and Greg Schultz and directed by Marcus Tomlinson of @radical.media. The script was by award-winning copywriter Joe O’Neill, with help from Bono and film producer Rita Wilson (Tom Hanks’s wife), who wrote the campaign’s tagline: “We’re not asking for your money. We’re asking for your voice.”
