Keep California Beautiful Takes To the Beach in Retro Style!: California Launches a Beach Litter Campaign Through Public Private Partnership.

In an effort to keep California state beaches clean, Keep California Beautiful is launching its first new public service announcement (PSA) in three years. The retro TV spot is designed to draw attention to the growing problem of beach litter and marine debris in a provocative way by urging people not to "trash the beach.”

Keep California Beautiful’s new PSA-Beach Party, directed by Geordie Stephens of Tool of North America, is receiving positive reviews. The spot, designed as a throwback to the muscle beach days was shot on the same beach as the classic Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello film "Beach Blanket Bingo." The PSA-Beach Party is aimed at adults, particularly young adults in their 20’s, who visit and recreate at California’s beaches.

“With so much debris entering our ocean every year, it seems an almost insurmountable challenge to address. Improving this dire picture is going to require change on the part of individuals as well as institutions and society as a whole,” said Christine Flowers-Ewing, Executive Director of Keep California Beautiful.

However, the spot’s retro flavor appeals to viewers of all ages.

Matt McKenna, President and CEO of Keep America Beautiful Inc., said, “In this day and age, littering is just ridiculous. Keep California Beautiful, through their new PSA-Beach Party, is keeping the message light but also making a point that will resonate with today’s young people. They like humor and appreciate irony. Messages that use guilt as a motivator, just don’t sit well with them.”

The PSA is scheduled to run in media markets across California and Keep California Beautiful has partnered with Keep America Beautiful, for dissemination in other states with beaches, either on the ocean or on rivers or lakes. The PSA is being considered for use in other popular beach markets, such as Miami and New York/New Jersey.

It is the second pro-bono public service announcement created by BBDO West, which pulled together a team of producers, director and production staff to complete the spot and secure its placement. The first spot PSA-Mobsters, released three years ago, spoofed “The Sopranos.” In 2007, the PSA-Mobsters received a regional Emmy, was selected as “Best Ad” on TV and Geordie Stephens debuted with it in Shoots New Directors Reel. The spot shows two thugs throwing a body wrapped in a carpet off a dock; one drinks from a plastic bottle, hesitating before pitching the bottle into a recycling bin. The tagline says, “Redeem yourself. Recycle.

California’s coastline is large and heavily trafficked. As the third largest state in land area covering 158,693 square miles, California’s coastline is 1,264 miles long. With a population estimated at over 36 million, approximately 1 in 8 Americans are in California; within a relatively short distance from the coastline. The National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) estimates that 60-80 percent of all marine debris originates from land-based sources. There is no easy fix; however, there are many ways that we can confront this problem at its source. California beaches are themselves a contributor because of the millions of beach visitors annually. Trash may also be dumped directly into the ocean by recreational and commercial boaters.

According to Eben Schwartz, the Marine Debris Program Manager for the California Coastal Commission, “There are no estimates as to exactly how much marine debris currently resides in the ocean. However, when Californians can remove more than 1.6 million pounds of debris during a three-hour California Coastal Cleanup on a single day in September, a natural question to ask is - Where is all this trash coming from?”

Look around the next time you walk down the street. When it rains, trash on sidewalks and streets accumulates in the gutter and is swept into your city’s storm drain system. Most storm drain systems discharge directly into the nearest waterway, which eventually flows to the ocean.

According to the California Coastal Commission, millions of individuals enjoy the state’s coastline and waterways every day and nine out of ten individuals will visit the beach at least once this year. When they arrive at the beach, they are finding a lot more than sand and surf. “Beach Parties” and the holiday influx of summer travelers create its own set of problems. For example during the summer vacation season the City and County of San Diego beaches have an estimated 2 million visitors on the holiday weekends. Local non-profit organizations rally volunteers through the San Diego Clean Beach Coalition to participate in the “Morning After Mess Cleanup.” After July 4, 2008, volunteers picked up over 4,000 pounds of trash and 28,000 cigarette butts from the sands of six beaches throughout San Diego County. As done in 2008, KCB is continuing to engage industry partners such as American Chemistry Council to fund the purchase of temporary trash and recycling receptacles, which will be placed strategically throughout Mission Beach, Mission Bay, and Pacific Beach for 2009.

In the central coast of California, including Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties, Keep California Beautiful is working to support volunteer efforts to cleanup beaches and illegal dumpsites near waters ways by providing supplies, supporting volunteer coordinators and supplying access to outreach materials and shared creative developed as part of the new PSA campaign. This effort is being supported through small grants from the California Coastal Commission and Anheuser Busch.

“Keep California Beautiful is a partner of the California Annual Coastal Cleanup which is celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2009, said Christine Flowers-Ewing. “Join the effort on September 19, 2009 in the spirit of Moon Doggie and Gidget to help make a difference, cleaning up trash from our beaches, rivers, lakes and creeks. It’s easy no matter where you live because the event includes cleanups in communities in every county of this state.” Many of the participants are members of the Keep California Beautiful Proud Community Program.