Choose to Save(r) PSA Wins D.C.-Area Emmy Award 6/16/2004
From: Jim Jaffe of the Employee Benefit Research Institute, 202-775-6353 or jaffe@ebri.org; Cheri Meyer of the American Savings Education Council, 202-775-6351 or meyer@asec.org WASHINGTON, June 16 -- A Choose to Save(r) (CTS) television public service announcement (PSA) featuring retirement savings advice from a surprising array of experts has been honored with a Capitol-area Emmy award. The 30-second spot features a series of professionals -- including a physician and a policeman -- who begin speaking in their usual roles, but suddenly begin providing counsel on how best to save. The PSA was recognized for the quality of its writing. The winning PSA, "The Experts," was produced and directed by WJLA-TV (ABC affiliate) producer Jon Sullivan, who has won numerous other awards for his past Choose to Save(r) PSAs. The award was presented in Washington June 12 by the National Capital/Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the National Television Academy (a full list of local Emmy awards is posted on the group's Web site at http://www.natasdc.org/2004_emmy_program.html). "We try to use humor and positive examples to help individuals overcome their reluctance to address financial issues, which we know that many people find intimidating" said Cheri Meyer, director of the Choose to Save(r) program. "We are extremely proud that our PSAs have received national recognition, and thank all our partners, whose hard work made this possible. We're out to prove that savings is not only important, but that talking about it can be interesting and even entertaining. " Choose to Save(r) is a financial public education campaign developed by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and the American Savings Education Council (ASEC), and utilizes the power of the media to help spread the important message of the need to save, invest, and plan for retirement. Underwritten by Fidelity Investments in the Washington, DC, market, the Choose to Save(r) program includes educational brochures; radio and TV PSAs; newspaper ads; signage on public transportation; and ongoing news coverage through our Washington, DC, media partners -- WJLA-TV, WGMS Radio, and WTOP Radio. In the past few years, Choose to Save(r) PSAs have been distributed nationally to hundreds of television and radio stations through a partnership with the National Association of Broadcasters. "The PSAs are an integral part of our effort to encourage more Americans to think about savings issues more often," said Dallas Salisbury, president and CEO of EBRI. "We encourage media outlets and other organizations to utilize these PSAs as a free savings tool to help put their audience on the road to financial security." Salisbury noted that the CTS PSAs have also been distributed nationally in a package with educational PSAs from both the U.S. Savings Bond office of the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Social Security Administration. The Choose to Save(r) television and radio PSAs, as well as more than 100 financial planning calculators, are available at http://www.choosetosave.org . A number of other interactive savings tools, including the Retirement Personality Profiler, the Retirement Readiness Rating Quiz, and the Ballpark Estimate retirement planning worksheet, are also available at the EBRI and ASEC Web sites at: http://www.ebri.org and http://www.asec.org ------ Founded in 1978, EBRI's mission is to contribute to, to encourage, and to enhance the development of sound employee benefit programs and sound public policy through objective research and education. EBRI is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy research organization based in Washington, DC. EBRI does not lobby and does not take positions on legislative proposals. ASEC is a coalition of private- and public-sector institutions that undertakes initiatives to raise public awareness about what is needed to ensure long-term personal financial independence. ASEC works through its partners to educate Americans on all aspects of personal finance and wealth development, including credit management, college savings, home purchase, and retirement planning. ASEC develops and distributes educational materials, all of which are available in hard copy and on the ASEC Web sites: http://www.asec.org and http://www.choosetosave.org . ASEC is a program of the EBRI Education and Research Fund. |