DDB Chicago and director Jesse Dylan of Wondros tap persuasive celebrities to motivate prospective GED recipients in the comical new :60 PSA “GED Pep Talk Center” for Ad Council, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation and YourGED.org. The PSA, for broadcast and in-cinema release, features celebs working at a fictitious GED Pep Talk Call Center, where they each give test takers their own brand of pep talk.
The pep talkers are Jerry Stiller, Danny Trejo, Ron Perlman, DMC and Chris Lloyd to name a few–all of whom were chosen for their unique communication styles to provide varying levels of encouragement, from subtle to fierce, to those in need of a little motivation. The website allows visitors to adjust a slider to control the strength of their pep talk, varying from “Gentle” to “Extreme.” The range goes from sweet TV mom Debra Jo Rupp (That 70s Show) to tough guy Trejo.
While comedy is the means chosen for this PSA, the subject matter is serious. Some 89 percent of American businesses require applicants to have at least a high school level of education; yet more than 35 million adults do not have their high school diploma. This campaign looks to provide the “push” needed for these people to get their GEDs.
The multi-media campaign provides resources for people find and sign up for free GED classes. In addition to the :60 spot and 13 online pep talks, there is also a hot-line with the option to choose the appropriate level; a special text service to get a celebrity call back and even an option for well-meaning family and friends to send a pep talk via Facebook to their loved ones.
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More