The Briefing Room

Ear Goo Supports Two Important PSA Campaigns For MTV and VH1

Raymond Ecke May 2nd, 2008

Original Music/Sound Design House Helps Promote Need For Mosquito Netting To Stop Spread of Malaria and the On-Going Darfur Crisis

(Top) From VH1’s Nothing But Nets PSA; (Bottom) from MTV’s Save Darfur PSA

NEW YORK, NY — Ear Goo Inc. (www.eargoo.com), the award-winning music and sound design company lead by Chief Creative Director Paul Goldman, lent its collective talent to two important PSAs currently airing – “Nothing But Nets,” an initiative to supply Africa with mosquito netting to help stop the spread of malaria, currently airing on VH1; and “Save Darfur,” an awareness campaign featuring a voiceover from Alicia Keys that brings to light the atrocities being committed against the women and children of the war torn region.

Both spots take completely different tacts to communicate their messages. For “Nothing But Nets,” an organization that actually began thanks to a Sports Illustrated column by writer Rick Reilly, uses humor to convey the need for something as simple mosquito netting to help stop the spread of malaria in Africa. In contrast “Save Darfur” incorporates dramatic photos and voiceover from Keys to detail the daily horrors facing the women and children of Darfur.

Musically “Nothing But Nets” uses kazoos, clarinet, violin and tuba to create a light-hearted, sit-com-type vibe while visually the spot features a man dressed as a mosquito (portrayed by Tim Harrington, lead singer in the popular indie rock band Les Savy Fav) buzzing around an office and going to great lengths to annoy workers. The voiceover intones, “to us mosquitoes are annoying but in Africa they spread malaria, which is deadly.”

“The ‘Sally Struthers approach’ doesn’t work anymore,” Melissa Bolton-Klinger, the PSA’s director and VH1’s Director of Multi-platform & Pro-social Promotions said. “The challenge was to find a way to engage our pop culture savvy audience but at the same time inform them about these serious issues. I knew I wanted to work with Ear Goo because for this we needed to draw people in through the music. They are always collaborative. Even before we shot anything I showed them the script and asked them for ideas. We wanted something funny and light with instrumentation that emulates a mosquito. They totally nailed it.”

In addition to airing on VH1, the spot can also be seen on Jumbotrons at every NBA, WNBA and Major League Soccer arena.

MTV’s “Save Darfur” spot begins with the sound of traditional African rhythms but the tone quickly shifts to a more somber feel as Keys’ voiceover details how “hundreds of thousands have been killed by disease, nearly 3 million people are now refugees and woman and girls have become targets of militias roaming in Darfur.” The accompanying photos of burning villages and stricken faces drives home the message in a deeply affecting and profound way. MTV’s Sophia Cranshaw directed the spot.

“As a creative company, we feel a strong responsibility to use our talent and resources to do some good and educate people about some of these important humanitarian issues,” Goldman said. “We’re proud to contribute to them and be a part of their attempt to affect positive change.”

About Ear Goo Inc:

Founded by Paul Goldman in 1994, Ear Goo (www.eargoo.com) has grown enormously the past 14 years; building a well-earned reputation for original music, sound design that challenges clients with musical concepts that go beyond the expected. It is that adventurous mindset that accounts for Ear Goo’s repeat business from the world’s leading television networks and advertising agencies, including MTV, VH1, TBWA/Chiat/ Day, McCann Erickson, Y&R, DDB and Leo Burnett. Their work on MTV’s campaign to inform people about the crisis in Sudan’s Darfur region resulted in a special Emmy Award for the network. The company also won a 2006 BDA Gold for best original sound design for MTV’s spot “Dots”. Their current showreel includes spots for Xbox, Powerade, Footlocker, McDonald’s, USPS, Mercedes-Benz and Nintendo.

Web Resources:

Click here to watch the Nothing But Nets PSA:

http://www.eargoo.com/post/PSANets.mov

Click here to watch the “Save Darfur” PSA:

http://www.eargoo.com/newsletter/Darfur60.mov

Click here to visit the Nothing But Nets website:

http://www.nothingbutnets.net

Click here to visit MTV’s Darfur website:

http://www.channelthechange.com

Click here to read the Sports Illustrated article that started Nothing But Nets:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/rick_reilly/04/25/reilly0501/

Creative Credits: