MLB, MasterCard Worldwide and Stand Up To Cancer join forces for historic live in-stadium and televised event. Actors Terrence Howard and Minka Kelly to encourage fans to “stand up” to cancer from inside citizens bank park in spot produced by filmmaker & SU2C Co-Founder Laura Ziskin.
October 30, 2009 – Major League Baseball, MasterCard Worldwide and Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) have joined together for an historic live event to occur during Game Three of the 2009 World Series on Saturday, October 31, incorporating the live crowd inside Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia into a “Priceless” public awareness spot produced by Stand Up To Cancer Founding Member Laura Ziskin. The spot will air between the start of the second and end of the third innings and will be broadcast live on FOX as well as inside the stadium. Near the conclusion of the 30-second spot – which celebrates the powerful emotions baseball creates – the action will turn live to the ballpark, where actors Terrence Howard and Minka Kelly will encourage the rest of the crowd and the viewing audience to “stand up” to cancer.
Major League Baseball earlier this week announced that Game Three will highlight Stand Up To Cancer as part of its overall dedication of the 2009 World Series to community service, with each of the first four games devoted to a specific charitable initiative. In support of this effort, MasterCard expanded its charitable relationship with SU2C, a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation that raises funds for innovative research conducted primarily by teams of scientists, aimed at accelerating the development of new cancer treatments in order to save lives now. In addition to integrating the Stand Up To Cancer message into the “Priceless” spot and donating the time for it to air during the broadcast of Game Three on FOX, MasterCard will contribute $1 million to SU2C the first time a home run hits one of the two “Hit It Here” signs in the outfield during the game. MasterCard is also donating $1,000 for every home run hit throughout the entire 2009 Postseason. Through Game Two of the World Series, 50 home runs have been hit, resulting in a $50,000 donation thus far.
“Major League Baseball has been a proud supporter of Stand Up To Cancer from its very beginning, driving home its key message with our fans: that each and every person can play a role in helping the scientists who are working so hard to end this disease,” said Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig. “We’re thankful to MasterCard for joining us in ‘going beyond’ to support this worthy cause, and encourage everyone to stand up with us and help eradicate cancer.”
“The 2009 MLB postseason has proven to be an extraordinary stage for MasterCard to stand up and support a cause that connects our employees, customers, cardholders and baseball fans across America”, said Larry Flanagan, Chief Marketing Officer for MasterCard Worldwide. “We’re honored to share the power of “Priceless” with the passionate and innovative approach that SU2C brings to fighting this disease. And, we’re expecting the Yankees and Phillies sluggers to compete for being the first one to land a home run on MasterCard’s “Hit It Here” sign for the $1 million donation to SU2C.”
Created by award-winning motion picture and television producer Laura Ziskin, the spot will mark the first-ever installment of the famed MasterCard “Priceless” platform to be dedicated to a non-profit. Ziskin’s film credits include the Spider-Man trilogy, As Good As It Gets and Pretty Woman, and she produced the 74th and 79th Academy Awards. A member of the Stand Up To Cancer leadership team, Ziskin also executive produced its 2008 televised fundraising special. One of every three American women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes and in 2004, Ziskin learned that she, herself, had breast cancer.
“Collaboration is central to Stand Up To Cancer,” Ziskin noted, “…whether its within the teams of scientists whose work we fund, in the extraordinary partnerships we have among the people and companies that make up the entertainment community, or in our remarkable relationships with MLB and other generous donors. We’re utilizing all these resources to build a movement of people excited about helping researchers who are on the cusp of major breakthroughs, but need additional funding.”
“The World Series is a major cultural touchstone,” Ziskin continued. “To be able to heighten awareness about the importance of supporting cutting-edge cancer research during it through one of the world’s largest, most recognizable, and award-winning advertising campaigns is, in a word, priceless. We are enormously grateful to both MLB and MasterCard.”
The “Priceless” spot can be seen online here: www.tinyurl.com/SU2CPricelessSpot
In less than one year from its May 2008 launch, Stand Up To Cancer raised more than $100 million—including a lead $10 million donation from Major League Baseball – due in part to an historic hour-long program simultaneously broadcast on three major television networks on September 5, 2008. On its one-year anniversary in May 2009, SU2C announced $73.6 million in three-year grants to its first five Dream Team collaborations, comprised of more than 200 researchers from over 20 leading institutions.
Stand Up To Cancer’s next round of funding, “high risk / potentially high reward” Innovative Research Grants for individual investigators (often not funded by conventional sources) will be announced soon. Philadelphia-based American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is Stand Up To Cancer’s partner, and is responsible for administering the grants, including distributing the funds to the institutions selected, developing methods of reporting and – in conjunction with the SU2C Scientific Advisory Committee, led by Nobel Laureate Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D., Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and David H. Koch Institute at MIT—providing scientific oversight.
MasterCard has been an official sponsor of Major League Baseball since 1997 and is the preferred card of MLB and MLB Advanced Media. MasterCard has a strong history of innovative and comprehensive marketing platforms with MLB and its Clubs over the years, including the “MasterCard Presents Major League Baseball All-Century Team” in 1999, the “MasterCard Presents Major League Baseball Memorable Moments” in 2002 and the “Hit It Here” in-stadium promotion at MLB All-Star Week since 1999. MasterCard also maintains sponsorship alliances with 11 MLB Clubs including six of the eight postseason contenders (Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals).
About Major League Baseball Properties
The Major League Baseball Clubs formed Major League Baseball Properties (MLBP) in 1966 as the Club’s agent for marketing and trademark licensing and protection. Major League Baseball Properties is responsible for managing consumer licensing activities, developing national advertising campaigns, cultivating sponsorship opportunities with major consumer brands and corporations, growing the game and the business of baseball outside the United States and creating national marketing programs in conjunction with Clubs, broadcast rightsholders and national sponsors. MLBP also operates a full-service video and audio production unit (Major League Baseball Productions), a publishing division and stock photo licensing agency, and manages logistics for the All-Star Game and World Series as well as all other special events. For more information on Major League Baseball, log on to http://www.MLB.com.
About MasterCard Worldwide
MasterCard Worldwide advances global commerce by providing a critical economic link among financial institutions, businesses, cardholders and merchants worldwide. As a franchisor, processor and advisor, MasterCard develops and markets payment solutions, processes approximately 21 billion transactions each year, and provides industry-leading analysis and consulting services to financial-institution customers and merchants. Powered by the MasterCard Worldwide Network and through its family of brands, including MasterCard®, Maestro® and Cirrus®, MasterCard serves consumers and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. For more information go to http://www.mastercard.com.
About Stand Up To Cancer
The Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) movement raises funds to hasten the pace of groundbreaking translational research that can get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives. SU2C is a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) and was founded by a group of media, entertainment and philanthropic leaders whose lives have been affected by cancer in significant ways. The group includes Laura Ziskin, executive producer of the 2008 broadcast and a cancer survivor; the Entertainment Industry Foundation, represented by Board of Directors Chairperson Sherry Lansing (Founder of the Sherry Lansing Foundation), CEO Lisa Paulsen and Vice President Kathleen Lobb; Katie Couric; Rusty Robertson and Sue Schwartz of the Robertson Schwartz Agency; Noreen Fraser, founder of the Noreen Fraser Foundation and a cancer survivor; and nonprofit executive Ellen Ziffren. For more information go to http://www.standup2cancer.org.
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Contact: Matt Bourne or Jeff Heckelman, Major League Baseball, (212) 931-7878
Tristan Jordan, MasterCard Worldwide, (914) 249-5724
Tom Chiodo, Stand Up To Cancer, (212) 843-8289