Keep America Beautiful Introduces KAB Man, Superhero for the Environment and Defender of Natural Beauty

Keep America Beautiful, Inc., Phi Theta Kappa's International Service Program partner, has launched a new national outreach effort featuring KAB Man, an animated superhero who takes to the skies, the streets and the web on a mission to protect the environment.

The campaign was launched with three animated films, viewable from the KAB Man website. KAB Man (a.k.a. Jeff), the central character, is a 20-something everyman enlisted to help Keep America Beautiful fulfill its mission to reduce litter, promote recycling and waste reduction, and encourage community beautification through graffiti prevention, tree plantings, community gardens and green spaces.

The website also includes bonus content such as an online "fly and recycle" game, eco-friendly themed merchandise, and (coming soon) downloadable posters. The posters will feature Molly Sims, supermodel and co-star of NBC's Las Vegas, who makes an animated cameo appearance in one film. Funds raised through online donations and purchases will support KAB's mission and ongoing activities to improve communities through its network of nearly 1,000 local affiliates and participating organizations.

Phi Theta Kappa members can also help the campaign by viewing the films, forwarding them to friends and colleagues, and becoming one of KAB Man's MySpace friends. You can also promote the films by placing banner ads on websites, blogs, or MySpace pages. Banners are available through KAB's Phi Theta Kappa pages.

"KAB recognizes that the future of our organization depends upon engaging today's up-and-coming generation of environmental stewards, and the web is the place to reach them," said Robert Wallace, KAB's vice president of communications. "Like most people, this generation feels overwhelmed by big-picture environmental issues like global warming, and they are seeking ways to be a part of the solution through their everyday choices and actions. KAB Man is here to help."

The KAB Man character and films were conceived, directed and produced pro bono by San Francisco ad agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners. "The time for a reluctant, semi-competent, funny-sounding champion of environmental responsibility has come," said Jeff Goodby, agency president and creative director of the campaign. "Litterers and recycling scofflaws are shaking in their boots."

Operation Green: Improving Our Communities, Phi Theta Kappa's partnership with Keep America Beautiful, is currently in its second year. More than 520 Phi Theta Kappa chapters are participating through programs in the four focus areas of Education and Raising Awareness, Recycling, Beautification, and Clean Communities.

Highlights of the partnership include a highly successful tree planting initiative proposed by Phi Theta Kappa's 2006-07 International Officers, which resulted in 3,570 trees planted; and keynote addresses presented by KAB's National Director of Education, Sue Smith, at Phi Theta Kappa's 2006 and 2007 International Conventions.

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