Innovative New PSAs Illustrate United Way Of The 21st Century

United Way of America
Tuesday, 17 July 2001

Alexandria, Va.—July 17, 2001—Today, United Way of America launched its 2001 Public Service Announcement (PSA) campaign, titled "Performance." The dynamic campaign uses strong, high-performing athletes as a metaphor for United Way – as a determined and action-oriented community leader.

The "Performance" campaign symbolizes United Way's brand repositioning, from more than a fundraiser — to a proactive community leader and expert in knowing where contributions will do the most good to improve the overall quality of the community.

"We know these PSAs aren't what people are used to seeing from United Way, but we want to get people's attention and show them that United Way is the smartest investment they can make in their communities," said Chris Amundsen, Interim President of United Way of America. "The 21st Century United Way is a 1,400 member-strong family that is the nation's leading community solutions provider — bringing people together to focus resources on the most pressing problems in order to achieve measurable results."

The PSAs present the value of United Way's "Community Impact Agenda" — the focus of United Ways' work on the most pressing issues within their communities. While Community Impact Agendas are determined at the local level and vary from community to community, the PSAs focus on three areas universally seen across the United Way system: helping kids succeed; promoting self-sufficiency; and building vital and safe neighborhoods. To underscore the importance of these impact areas, the spots highlight poverty and violence — two of the most critical underlying social problems facing communities across the country.

Fraser Communications of Santa Monica, California, worked with United Way of America to create the groundbreaking campaign. Olympic gold medallist Alvin Harrison and former professional boxer Danielle Doobenen are the athletes chosen to represent United Way. Rap star Kool Mo Dee composed original music for the campaign and provided the voice talent. The PSAs – produced for television, print and radio — encourage viewers and listeners to visit unitedway.org or their local United Way's website to learn more about their community's impact agenda.

For more information, or to contact United Way of America, see their website at: www.unitedway.org