Cablevision, Lustgarten Foundation Debut 'curePC' Awareness Campaign

PSAs For The Fight Against Pancreatic Cancer Will Run Across Company’s Varied Media Assets

-- Multichannel News, 9/30/2008 6:02:00 AM

Cablevision Systems Corporation and The Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research today have initiated "curePC," a new public awareness campaign in support of the fight against pancreatic cancer, America’s fourth-leading cause of cancer death.

Leveraging a host of Cablevision’s media assets, the new campaign is made possible through the cable company, which has committed to underwriting all of The Lustgarten Foundation’s administrative costs to ensure that every dollar donated to the organization will go directly to pancreatic cancer research.

For The Lustgarten Foundation, the nation’s largest private supporter of pancreatic research, 2008 marks its 10th year of working toward a cure. Formed in 1998, it's named after Cablevision executive Marc Lustgarten, who died from the disease.Each year, 37,000 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, which has a survival rate of 4% and in most cases, once people are diagnosed only have a few months to live.

Through this partnership, Cablevision and The Lustgarten Foundation aim to raise awareness of the severity of the disease. Beginning to roll out over the next two weeks, the curePC initiative includes public service announcements on television and radio, print advertisements, an online presence and more. All aspects of the campaign will point to www.curePC.org, which will serve as the primary Web site for people to learn more, to participate and to use as a resource for those affected by pancreatic cancer. Visitors will also be able to screen the PSAs at the aforementioned site.

“Pancreatic cancer is a highly aggressive and lethal disease that needs more attention and we think Cablevision is in a unique position to help, “said Cablevision president and CEO James Dolan. “Cablevision touches people’s everyday lives in so many ways – whether they are watching television, reading a newspaper, going to see a movie or attending a sporting event. We will use the strength and breadth of this reach to take on this battle in a very public way and to, hopefully, help advance a cause that needs more funding and increased awareness so that someday a cure can be found.”

Noted Lustgarten Foundation president Dr. Robert Vizza: “We are extremely grateful to Cablevision for their increased commitment to The Lustgarten Foundation and what it means in the battle against pancreatic cancer. Now, thanks to Cablevision’s resources, more people will know about the deadly nature of pancreatic cancer and what they can do to help fight this disease. By launching the curePC campaign and underwriting The Lustgarten Foundation’s administrative costs, Cablevision has also undertaken the enormous responsibility of ensuring that every dollar donated to the Foundation will go directly toward research to help find a cure.”

One of the initial 30-second spots, titled “Dan’s Pancreatic Cancer,” personifies the disease’s lethalness and randomness. It was was created by Gardner Nelson & Partners, Inc., the New York ad agency that also developed other elements of the campaign, including the curePC microsite, Web banners, posters and print ads.

Messaging about the campaign will be disseminated via the insertion of the PSAs across 70 of the most popular cable networks reaching 3 million homes in the New York DMA via Cablevision’s systems. The company is also creating an on-demand interactive channel exclusively for The Lustgarten Foundation, where the operator’s subscribers can learn more about the group and its fight against the virulent disease.

Cablevision’s Clearview Cinemas’ and IFC Center’s 253 movie screens will run the PSAs during movie trailers.

Print ads are also slated across the Newsday Media Group’s publications, which includes the newspaper, which reaches 1.5 million Long Island adults per week, as well as other daily, weekly and monthly titles that when combined extend to 4.5 million weekly readers.

The company will also launch Web banners across all of its 24 Web sites, pointing users to www.curePC.org

Cablevision also plans to tap the Madison Square Garden marquees on 7th and 8th avenues, just above the highly trafficked Penn Station, to run the campaign’s PSAs. The messages will also appear inside the Garden, home to the Cablevision-owned New York Knicks, Rangers and Liberty, as well as Radio City Music Hall and the renovated Beacon Theatre. Together, these venues attract some 6 million customers annually.

Forty-seven Optimum customer service centers in the tri-state area will also be outfitted with campaign messages.