Best Friends has taken its message of No More Homeless Pets straight to the epicenter of New York City —Times Square.
The enormous Geoffrey Tron screens displayed on the square have begun airing a Best Friends’ public service announcement that reads, “12,000 homeless pets will die in America’s shelters today. Help achieve No More Homeless Pets. Text ‘Pets’ to 90999 to donate $5.”* To see the PSA, click here.
That donation will go to Best Friends in its mission to zero out the euthanasia rate in America’s shelters and bring about a time of No More Homeless Pets. (Of course, you don’t need to be in New York to participate. Anyone with text messaging capability on a cell phone can donate.)
The PSA began showing Nov. 3 and will appear 2,880 times by December 1. With 1.5 million people passing through the square every day, we could not ask for a more conspicuous platform in New York to spread our message.
And that’s not the only Best Friends’ PSA New Yorkers will be seeing this holiday season.
Starting December 1 and ending January 1, 2010, the Geoffrey Tron screens will be airing a PSA featuring actor Rachelle Lefevre, star of the soon-to-released blockbuster “New Moon” and a new spokeswoman for our Puppies Aren’t Products campaign. In the PSA, Lefevre urges those thinking of buying a dog to “adopt, don’t shop.”
Both PSAs are part of a general Best Friends’ promotion afoot in New York. In conjunction with the PSAs on the Geoffrey Tron, Best Friends will also have several chalk stencils on the sidewalks in and around Times Square showing our logo, our mission and our website.
“We could hardly ask for a better opportunity in New York,” says Amber Ayers, senior manager of marketing at Best Friends, “We’ll be reaching not just New Yorkers, but a multitude of tourists from all over the country who pass through Times Square every day. And we’ll be reaching them at a crucial time of year — the holiday shopping season. Hopefully we can compel people considering buying a pet to make the humane, responsible choice — adoption.”
In addition to the activity in Times Square, Best Friends will also have, on November 12, an advertisement in The New York Times’ annual “Giving” section. The advertisement encourages readers to join Best Friends and support our No More Homeless Pets mission.
*A one-time donation of $5 will be added to your mobile phone bill or deducted from your prepaid balance. Standard messaging rates and additional fees may apply. All charges are billed by and payable to your mobile service provider. Service is available on most carriers. Donations are collected for the benefit of Best Friends Animal Society by the Mobile Giving Foundation and subject to the terms found at www.mGive.com/A. You can unsubscribe at any time by texting STOP to 90999.