Winner: Christopher Reeve Foundation and MWWGroup
Campaign: Calling All Superheroes: A Smallville Superman Tag PSA
The Christopher Reeve Foundation is dedicated to changing the realities of paralysis through grants, research and advocacy. As part of a new fundraiser, it teamed up with the
Warner Bros. television network and DC Comics to develop a fresh approach to fundraising.
This approach involved the creation of Superman Dog Tags (seen at right). They are engraved with the Superman "S" shield and the Foundation's new tagline, "Go Forward" and can
be worn around the neck or clipped onto gear, sports equipment, purses, or book bags. The tags pay tribute to the late Christopher Reeve, the actor who played Superman in several
movies and who was paralyzed by a horse-riding accident in 1995.
Sales of the tags help to amplify awareness of the Foundation and its work. All proceeds from the sale of the Superman Dog Tags go to support the Christopher Reeve Foundation's
ongoing research efforts to find treatments and cures for paralysis.
A public service announcement about the tags ran on the Warner Bros. (now the CW) network television show "Smallville," which dramatizes the young adulthood of Superman. The
public service announcement featured Annette O'Toole (the actress who plays the adolescent superhero's adopted, human mother on the WB network show) who asked viewers to help
Reeve's vision of finding a cure of paralysis become a reality.
Response to the announcement, which reached more than 5.5 million viewers, was overwhelming. After the PSA appeared, more than 5,000 sets of the tags were sold within just a
few hours.
Also to publicize the sale of the Superman dog tags, Christopher Reeve's widow, Dana Reeve, appeared on the "Today Show" and "Access Hollywood," which sold more than 4,000
tags, the week before the public service announcement ran. Appearances by Ms. Reeve on "Good Morning" and "CNN American Morning" also generated sales of 4,000 tags. Tragically,
Dana Reeve would herself die of cancer in March 2006.
By establishing a relationship with the WB network and leveraging that relationship to create a powerful alliance with the producers of "Smallville," the Foundation was able to
raise more than $100,000 for spinal cord injury research - a superhuman effort that Superman would surely have appreciated.
Honorable Mentions
"Picture of Health" National Multimedia PSA for CDC's Screen for Life Campaign: Ogilvy Public Relations Colorectal cancer is the second leading cancer killer, but more
widespread screening could prevent two-thirds of colorectal cancer deaths each year. Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide partnered with the Entertainment Industry Foundation and the
National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance, founded by Katie Couric. The campaign included print PSAs with Couric, airport dioramas, and TV/radio PSAs with actor Morgan Freeman,
which ranked repeatedly in the top 2 percent of PSAs tracked by Nielson.
U.S. Conference of Mayors - Breast and Prostate Cancer Awareness Public Service Announcement Campaign: Burson-Marsteller, Chicago; Astra Zeneca In partnership with Burston-
Marsteller, Chicago, AstraZeneca developed a radio PSA campaign to expand awareness of AstraZeneca's commitment to prostate/breast cancer and education to position AstraZeneca as
a leader in the treatment of both diseases. Mayors from 41 states participated in the announcements, which reached an audience of almost 200 million Americans throughout the
country.