COLLE+MCVOY USES HUMOR, GETS SERIOUS ABOUT DEBT

Advertising agency produces first-ever national PSA campaign on debt for the Homeownership Preservation Foundation

In response to the alarming, near-epidemic trend of home foreclosures in the United States, the Homeownership Preservation Foundation (HPF), along with marketing partners Colle+McVoy and Exponent PR, produced a new, first-of-its-kind public service campaign breaking this month that specifically addresses the nation's growing home foreclosure problem.

Advertising agency Colle+McVoy and its public relations partner, Exponent, have produced a pair of television public service announcements that deftly uses humor in order to tackle the serious subject of debt. Full of physical comedy, "Annoying" and "Loud Mouth," portray actors who do impishly infuriating things to personify the nagging, annoying thoughts weighing on a homeowner who is experiencing financial difficulty.

The public service's tagline, "Debt is more than annoying—it could cost you your home," reinforces the effort to move these debt-ridden homeowners from a state of denial to taking action before it's too late, encouraging them to call the HPF at 888-995-HOPE to receive free, confidential advice from a Housing and Urban Development-certified counseling agency. More than 2.9 million American households have experienced home foreclosure within the last five years alone.

"Loud Mouth" and "Annoying" were directed by Brendan Gibbons of Los Angeles' Hungry Man Productions. Gibbons' other commercial credits include campaigns for CNN, Verizon, ESPN, and M&Ms candies.

Founded in 2004, the Homeownership Preservation Foundation (HPF) is a Minneapolis-based nonprofit organization that was created for the explicit purpose of helping prevent home foreclosures and preserve homeownership throughout the United States. For more information about the Homeownership Preservation Foundation, visit www.hpfonline.org.