More Birthdays!

Celebrity Artists and Musicians Take the American Cancer Society's Campaign for More Birthdays to the Next Level

Keith Urban, Justin Bieber, Jack Johnson, Maurice Sendak and Eric Carle among well-known artists joining the next phase of the Society’s movement to create a world with less cancer and more birthdays

ATLANTA – September 13, 2010 – The American Cancer Society, the official sponsor of birthdays, today announced details of a unique new campaign that marks the next phase of the Society’s movement for more birthdays. Over the past several months, dozens of the biggest names in music and art have come together, inspired by the efforts of the American Cancer Society, its supporters and everyone affected by cancer, to generously donate their talent and artwork to help amplify the voice of the More Birthdays movement. To date, artists such as Keith Urban, Justin Bieber, Jack Johnson, Colbie Caillat, Eric Carle, Maroon 5, Masha D’Yans and more have joined the More Birthdays movement, and others continue to join every day.

Musicians joining the campaign each perform their own special rendition of “Happy Birthday,” one of the most well-known songs in the world, while each visual artist creates or donates artwork inspired by specific facts about how the American Cancer Society has contributed to progress against cancer. The musician and artist contributions have been turned into traditional advertising elements such as television, magazine and online ads, as well as birthday merchandise housed in a new art and music gallery on morebirthdays.com. There the public can help celebrate more birthdays by sending custom e-cards or buying gift wrap, posters, limited-edition prints and more – all created from the exclusive art and music donated to the campaign. Each donation made or item purchased will help the American Cancer Society raise money and save more lives to create a world with less cancer and more birthdays.

“I love the spirit of the American Cancer Society’s More Birthdays campaign because it celebrates life,” said three-time Grammy Award winner Keith Urban. “The marking of time, especially when spent with family and friends on that special day, helps to remind us of the little things that are most important to all of our lives.”

“I think it’s really important to support More Birthdays because the Society is helping out so much to save lives,” said multiple platinum singing sensation Justin Bieber. “Hopefully, me singing Happy Birthday to people through this effort will make them smile.”

“Thanks in part to the progress we’ve made, today we are celebrating 350 birthdays each and every day that would have been otherwise lost to cancer,” said John R. Seffrin, PhD, chief executive officer, American Cancer Society. “Now we are working relentlessly toward a world where we can celebrate tens of thousands more birthdays every day, and we need every tool at our disposal. We hope the support of these wonderful artists and musicians will capture the public’s attention and inspire them to help us make more progress and move us closer to a world where cancer never steals another year of anyone’s life.”

The campaign is the creative work of the Society’s partner advertising and public relations agencies, led by The Martin Agency with strategic support from Brodeur Partners and Vanguard Entertainment Media Marketing Group.

The American Cancer Society invites everyone to visit morebirthdays.com and join these entertainers, artists and the thousands of supporters who have already joined the movement to create a world with less cancer and more birthdays.

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About the American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society combines an unyielding passion with nearly a century of experience to save lives and end suffering from cancer. As a global grassroots force of more than three million volunteers, we fight for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. We save lives by helping people stay well by preventing cancer or detecting it early; helping people get well by being there for them during and after a cancer diagnosis; by finding cures through investment in groundbreaking discovery; and by fighting back by rallying lawmakers to pass laws to defeat cancer and by rallying communities worldwide to join the fight. As the nation’s largest non-governmental investor in cancer research, contributing more than $3.5 billion, we turn what we know about cancer into what we do. As a result, more than 11 million people in America who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will be celebrating birthdays this year. To learn more about us or to get help, visit cancer.org.1-800-227-2345