Folks wondered what was going to happen to the surplus Dave Cullen money raised for the Variety ad. Looks like we have an answer, and I think it's a good one, too. Here's the news:
http://www.moviecitynews.com/Notepad/2006/060403_pr.htmlFor Immediate Release:
Fans Support Next Wave of Brokeback Mountain Ads
and announce campaign to put the DVD in 2,000 rural libraries
Hollywood, California -- Building on the international attention for its unprecedented ad in the March 10 Daily Variety, a website discussion board has launched an ambitious campaign to place the Brokeback Mountain DVD in 2,000 rural libraries in the United States and Canada. The campaign will also extend abroad, particularly targeting countries like the Bahamas, where the film has been banned. This is the first in a series of projects to be launched by The Ultimate Brokeback Forum. “The ad campaign ignited a wealth of enthusiasm to make a difference. It has been an incredible outpouring of Internet activism, and it is all due to Brokeback Mountain” said site organizer, Dave Cullen.
The group is calling the latest campaign: “2,000 DVDs to Libraries.” In the first few days of the campaign, prior to the DVD release, the group has already committed to donating the DVD to about 200 libraries in twelve states and Canada. Most libraries have been receptive--a dozen have refused, most citing general policy restrictions. Organizers hope that after the DVD is released that fans around the world will donate a DVD to a library or organization near them as part of the camapign.
The group has also moved to phase two of its advertising campaign. Over the next month, banner ads will run on at least eight Internet sites where organizers expect at least two million viewers will see the ads. The ads will proclaim Brokeback Mountain as the consensus choice for Best Picture in 2005 and will ask viewers to share the experience by linking them to the resources at The Ultimate Brokeback Guide and Forum at davecullen.com. Since the start of the campaign, the group has raised over $30,000 from some 800 contributors around the world.
As donations poured in from around the world--a contingent in Taiwan even ran their own ad in Mandarin--members of the forum expanded their vision beyond just a single ad in Variety. Contemplating print ads in national periodicals, members decided that broadly disseminated internet banner ads would allow the group to reach a wider audience, reflecting the forum’s diversity. “Members of our forum are an amazingly disparate group who simply want people to see the film and feel its power. Some of our most active members are grandmothers and over a third of forum members are women,” said Cullen.
It is no accident the group waited until the eve of the DVD release to start the second round of ads and to announce the campaign to place the DVD in 2,000 libraries. The group wanted to help bring the message of Brokeback Mountain to the millions of new fans who will see the film for the first time on DVD.
The Ultimate Brokeback Forum has 3,300 members and in only three months of operation has 12,000 unique visitors each day and over 200,000 page views. For more information, you can find them on the web at
www.brokeback.davecullen.com
