Worth passing on:
DC ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES “WE CAN BE HEROES,”
AN UNPRECEDENTED GIVING CAMPAIGN TO FIGHT
THE HUNGER CRISIS IN THE HORN OF AFRICA
Featuring Iconic Justice League Characters, Multilayered Campaign
To Leverage All Time Warner Advertising Platforms
Generating Significant Awareness of the Crisis
Multi-Million-Dollar Commitment Will Support
Three Aid Groups Working in Africa:
Save the Children, International Rescue Committee and Mercy Corps
(January 23, 2012 – New York, NY) DC Entertainment, home
of the world’s greatest super heroes, today unveiled an unprecedented
giving campaign to fight the hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa. This
multi-million-dollar commitment over the next
two years will be supported across all Warner Bros. Entertainment’s and
Time Warner’s businesses and feature DC Entertainment’s iconic Justice
League characters, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green
Lantern, The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg, issuing
the call to action, “We Can Be Heroes.” The announcements were made at a
press conference today in New York by Barry Meyer, Chairman & CEO,
Warner Bros.; Jeff Robinov, President, Warner Bros. Pictures Group; and
Diane Nelson, President, DC Entertainment.
We Can Be Heroes will support the efforts of three
humanitarian aid organizations working in Africa—Save the Children,
International Rescue Committee and Mercy Corps—as part of the global
effort to fight the current hunger crisis in the Horn of
Africa. The region is suffering its worst drought and famine in over 60
years, with 13 million in need of critical assistance and 250,000
facing starvation in Somalia alone. Each partner organization was
chosen for its track record of effective and expeditious
humanitarian aid efforts in Africa.
We Can Be Heroes will be supported via promotional exposure
across all of Time Warner’s divisional advertising platforms (Warner
Bros., Turner Broadcasting, Time Inc., HBO), generating millions of
consumer impressions and creating crucially needed
awareness of this crisis worldwide. Save the Children, International
Rescue Committee and Mercy Corps will equally share a corporate donation
of at least $2 million over the next two years comprised of cash
donations, employee matching funds and consumer matching
funds.
“Warner Bros. has a long history of corporate philanthropy
and outreach, and this campaign proudly continues that tradition,” said
Meyer. “We are a global company, and this is a global issue. By
marshalling our expertise in consumer and fan engagement
and creating global awareness, we hope we’re able to inspire others to
join us in becoming ‘heroes’ and make a difference in the Horn of
Africa.”
The Justice League characters were chosen by DC
Entertainment both for their global recognition as well as their
demonstration of strength in unity and numbers. The campaign’s graphic
identifier features the iconic Justice League characters—Superman,
Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Aquaman and
Cyborg—outlined in silhouette against the African continent. Each of
these characters is a super hero in his or her own right, but when they
band together as the Justice League, they become an unstoppable
force for good and right in the universe—a key message of the We Can Be
Heroes campaign. While many individuals may feel powerless to effect
change on their own, as part of a global campaign such as this, their
efforts, combined with those of other donors,
can create a world of change.
A key launch element of We Can Be Heroes is the campaign’s website, www.WeCanBeHeroes.org.
Here, consumers can make donations which DC Entertainment will match
100
percent (up to $1 million in donations), purchase specially branded
merchandise, with 50 percent of the purchase price going to fight the
hunger crisis via We Can Be Heroes, sign up for newsletters and
updates, and join the We Can Be Heroes online community.
The site will also feature information on each of the partner
organizations and updates on current conditions in the Horn of Africa.
“This campaign goes straight to the heart of our core
competency, as Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment both have a rich legacy
of telling socially relevant, compelling stories with characters
embraced by global audiences,” said Robinov. “The fact
that we’re able to take what we do and use it to raise awareness—and
inspire action—around a cause as important as this is gratifying. With
the support of the entire Studio and our Time Warner sister companies,
this campaign, like the DC Comics super heroes,
will make a great impact on an important issue.”
“The members of the Justice League are an international
team of super heroes beloved by a broad range of fans, including men and
women, young and old. This makes them the perfect ‘spokescharacters’
for this campaign,” said Nelson. “Their dedication
to social justice and commitment to band together to defend the helpless
brilliantly supports the ideals of the We Can Be Heroes campaign. The
hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa is something we can reverse if we
all work together. I’m proud and grateful
we’re able to harness the power and standing of the DC Comics brand and
iconic characters as well as for the support from both Warner Bros. and
Time Warner that has allowed us to pursue this unprecedented
initiative.”
“This is a tragic situation affecting millions and millions
of people. Everyone has the ability to be a part of the solution and
efforts such as We Can Be Heroes help bring us closer to that goal,”
said Dr. Jill Biden, who visited refugees in
Kenya in August and has worked to raise awareness of the crisis. “I
commend the efforts of DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. and other
organizations who are using their global reach to help raise awareness
of the crisis.”
For more information on We Can Be Heroes, visit www.WeCanBeHeroes.org. For more information on the campaign’s partner organizations, visit their websites: www.savethechildren.org
(Save the Children); www.rescue.org (International Rescue Committee) and www.mercycorps.org (Mercy Corps).
# # #
About DC Entertainment:
DC Entertainment, home to iconic brands DC Comics (Superman,
Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, The Flash), Vertigo (Sandman,
Fables) and MAD, is the creative division charged with strategically
integrating its content across Warner Bros. Entertainment
and Time Warner. DC Entertainment works in concert with many key Warner
Bros. divisions to unleash its stories and characters across all media,
including but not limited to film, television, consumer products, home
entertainment and interactive games. Publishing
thousands of comic books, graphic novels and magazines each year, DC
Entertainment is the largest English-language publisher of comics in the
world. In January 2012, DC Entertainment, in collaboration with Warner
Bros. and Time Warner divisions, launched We
Can Be Heroes—a giving campaign featuring the iconic Justice League
super heroes—to raise awareness and funds to fight the hunger crisis in
the Horn of Africa.
Contact:
Nicole Stipp/Fenton Courtney Simmons/DC Entertainment
212/584-5000 818/977-7764
Kelly Osmundson Paul McGuire
415/901-0111 818/954-6152
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