The NFL-United Way PSA's that run during every NFL broadcast
"have become a Sunday fixture, memorable for showing football
players helping others, often in situations richly layered in
emotions." The spots, which "have raised millions for the
charities of the United Way," usually feature NFL players
speaking about community projects or personal tragedies they have
confronted. The league donates $48M of air time each season for
the spots, which reach "an estimated 80 million people each
weekend." Annual donations to the United Way have increased from
$800M to $3.05B since the campaign began 21 years ago. Mario
Pelligrini, who has produced, directed, and written each of the
750 PSA's: "We're not selling soap or beer. We have no
intrinsic product. All we have is the thing that's inside every
person -- the compassion, the caring about other people, the love
of kids. We have to touch that. ... The spots have the highest
recall of any spots on NFL telecasts. And we're competing
against beer commercials that cost millions of dollars" (Bruce
Adams, S.F. EXAMINER, 10/18).
