New York, NY, April 16, 2013 … More than one million people around the world have viewed the Anti-Defamation League’s inspirational video, “Imagine A World Without Hate” as the public service campaign has gone viral on the Internet bolstered by word of mouth and “shares” by a number of luminaries and celebrities, from Ricky Martin to Lena Dunham and Ambassador Susan Rice.
The 80-second public service video, which was created by ADL to promote its vision of a prejudice-free world in commemoration of the League’s centennial year in 2013, also reached the YouTube Ads LeaderBoard for March 2013, marking the first time a nonprofit organization has ever made the list.
The video was propelled past the one million mark on YouTube after it inspired “tweets” and “shares” on social media from prominent individuals, celebrities and news sites. Celebrities sharing the video on their social media feeds have included Ann Curry, George Takei, Mayim Bialik, Moby, Arianna Huffington, Mark Burnett, Roma Downy and Donald Trump, among others.
“It is gratifying that more than a million people have seen this video message and passed it along to others so that they, too, might be inspired to dream of a world without hate,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. “It is especially heartening to learn of people who were so deeply moved by the video that they have vowed to take action in their own lives to speak out against bigotry, anti-Semitism, hatred and bullying. We hope that our campaign will have an impact in getting more people to join us in learning how to be part of the solution.”
Launched nearly a month ago, the ADL video imagines the contributions that victims of high-profile hate crimes might have made to society had their lives not been brutally cut short by racism, homophobia or anti-Semitism. The video is set to the music of John Lennon’s iconic song, “Imagine.”
Since the campaign was launched on March 20, hundreds of individuals have written in to the ADL web site and commented on the campaign on the League’s Facebook, YouTube and Twitter pages, lauding the message and signing up to get additional tools to fight prejudice in their own communities.
To that end, the League is in the process of developing an Educator’s Guide that will enable educators and schools to use the video in their classrooms to educate young people about the impact of unchecked hatred.
The Imagine a World Without Hate™ campaign was conceived by ADL in partnership with the creative team at Publicis Kaplan Thaler in honor of the 100th anniversary of the organization’s founding in 1913. It is one piece of a larger initiative to promote the League’s century of work toward a more respectful and inclusive society throughout the organization’s centennial year in 2013 and beyond.