Gore and Diaz announce 60 Seconds To Save The Earth
Story by Jack Foley
AL Gore and Cameron Diaz are set to announce the 60 Seconds to Save the Earth contest as part of a series of events aimed at continuing the awareness started by the Live Earth concerts.
The contest challenges viewers across the UK, US and the Republic of Ireland to create 15, 30, or 60-second ecospot PSAs about taking action or motivating change to help fight the climate crisis.
“Today we are asking young adults to take a stance and use their creative voices to encourage change and help fight the climate crisis,” explained Al Gore, chairman of Current TV.
He was backed by Diaz, who added: “It’s an exciting opportunity for young adults from around the world to inspire change because the planet needs a good publicist.”
From today (Saturday, July 7), Diaz will begin asking viewers of Current TV to submit their own ecospots to www.current.com/ecospot now through to September 12, 2007.
Additionally, a sample PSA created by Ask A Ninja, the 2007 Webby Award winner for Best Actor, will be running on Current TV and on Current’s website to demonstrate the concept.
Gore, Diaz and Current have also convened a celebrity judging panel that includes both highly committed environmental activists as well as individuals who are just starting to get involved and want to help the cause.
Actors Orlando Bloom, George Clooney and director Sam Mendes will join the likes of Alex Bogusky, of leading ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky, legendary advertising director Joe Pytka and Cathy Zoi, the founding CEO of the Alliance, in helping to select 20 finalists.
Current’s online community will then vote for their favorite ecospots and the winners will be announced on November 13. Winning ecospots will be aired internationally on Current TV, featured in the Alliance’s national campaign and showcased on MySpace’s Impact channel (http://impact.myspace.com).
The prize winner will receive a Toyota hybrid car while three finalists will win Sony electronic products, from a Bravia HD TV to a Vaio, and sixteen semi-finalists will receive T-Mobile Sidekicks.
For contest rules and details and to submit an ecospot, participants should visit www.current.com/ecospot
ITN Source (www.itnsource.com) will be providing free video footage that can be downloaded from the Current site and incorporated into the ecospots.