Shaquille O’Neal to Film PSA with UA PR Students

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal will visit The University of Alabama April 6 to direct a public service announcement video for the LessThanUThink campaign.

O’Neal will work with students from UA’s departments of advertising and public relations and telecommunication and film on LessThanUThink, an award-winning, student-generated campaign designed to address the national issue of college-age binge drinking.

O’Neal and The Century Council, a key funder of the campaign, are partnering to fight binge drinking on college campuses. O’Neal, who recently attended film director’s school, will work alongside the students to bring their voice to life by producing a student-created video addressing the serious issue of binge drinking on campus.

Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange will join O’Neal and a student from the LessThanUThink campaign at an April 6 news conference to discuss the importance of college students educating their peers on the negative social and physical consequences of binge drinking.

“The LessThanUThink campaign is giving a voice to college binge drinking that has not yet been heard, and this voice has significant power to influence the students and make a mark in preventing binge drinking,” said Strange. “I applaud Shaq for dedicating his time and effort to such an important cause. His willingness to invest a significant amount of energy in finding a solution to this problem is notable and, no doubt, raises additional awareness to the issue.”

From Feb. 27 through March 9, LessThanUThink held a contest for University students to come up with their own PSA storyboard ideas. The top three submissions were sent to O’Neal, who selected the storyboard by Crystal Deuel, an advertising major from Hartselle, as the winner. Deuel will join Shaq on the day of the shoot.

The video will utilize the campaign’s unique approach of using humor to highlight the negative social and physical consequences of binge drinking in an effort to educate students about the issue.

Students from the fall semester’s LessThanUThink team campaigned to bring O’Neal to the University through the “#GetShaq2UA” initiative on Twitter. O’Neal, a partner with The Century Council, responded in early November with a tweet announcing he would visit the University in 2012.

“Our generation grew up watching Shaq as an entertainer and role model,” said Mariah Fairweather, LessThanUThink account executive. “He is obviously passionate about reaching students on this issue, and we are fortunate and thankful to have him help spread our message to our peers.”

The campaign team plans to use the finished video as a way to reach students in the future, including a back-to-school initiative for the fall 2012 semester. For more information, visit LessThanUThink.org.

LessThanUThink is a student-generated, anti-binge drinking campaign funded by The Century Council and the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association on behalf of the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. The team consists of University of Alabama advertising and public relations students, working with the Student Health Center Department of Health Promotion and Wellness in association with The Capstone Agency, a student-run public relations firm. LessThanUThink and The Capstone Agency are student organizations within the College of Communication and Information Sciences’ Advertising and Public Relations Department.