Children's Hospital Got Better in 2004

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital re-emerged in 2004 with its best celebrity-driven awareness campaign to date. Since its founding in 1962 by entertainer Danny Thomas, St. Jude has enjoyed close ties to Hollywood. But, with consistent turn-over in the 'celebrity relations department' at their Memphis headquarters in recent years, those efforts were largely restricted to local fundraising activities. In 2004, with the addition of two full-timers in Hollywood, St. Jude launched a new, national public awareness campaign featuring television public service announcements, retail partnerships (Target, American Express, etc.) and a No. 1 best-selling book by hospital spokeswoman and Thomas-offspring, Marlo Thomas.

Royalties from the book, Thanks & Giving All Year Long (Simon & Schuster), which features celebrities from Paul Newman to Julianne Moore reminiscing about things they're thankful for, are to be donated to St. Jude.

Among the celebrities who participated in the Public Service Campaign were: Antonio Banderas, Sarah Jessica Parker, Tiger Woods, Ray Romano, Will Smith and Faith Hill.


Best Grass-Roots Campaign: LiveStrong

Our pick for best grass-roots campaign in 2004 was a no-brainer. The appearance of the now ubiquitous, yellow wrist-bands is proof-positive that when you combine a cross-over celebrity "good-guy" like Lance Armstrong with a "I gotta have one" fashion accessory, you have the ingredients for a smash success. The yellow bands - the color of the leader's jersey in the Tour de France - are being sold via the Lance Armstrong Foundation website (and low-profile retail partners) to raise money for people with cancer. The initial goal, to raise $5 million dollars, will likely be far exceeded. TFI wonders how long it will be before consumer marketers jump on the fashion-accessory bandwagon with their own knock-offs (see below). They should tread carefully. The purity of the Armstrong effort is unmistakable.



Ford Motor Company Ties One On

Ford Motor Company gets our nod for best cause-related tie-in in 2004 with their "Get Tied to the Cause" campaign. benefitting the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Race for the Cure®. Ford committed $75 million to the cause. The mostly-print campaign promoted the availability of Lilly Pulitzer-designed silk scarfs sold exclusively at Bloomingdales. The campaign rang true with celebrities who included: Claire Danes, Demi Moore, Jennifer Connelly and Mary J. Blige. Events were also staged in New York and Los Angeles. The latter was attended by Courtney Cox-Arquette, Lisa Kudrow and others.