• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, September 24, 2009

The private-sector campaign, which raises awareness, volunteerism and funds for the United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP) and spans 110 countries, kicked off Sept. 24 in Yum's Long John Silver's and A&W All-American Food chains, on Sept. 27 in Pizza Hut, Sept. 28 in KFC and Oct. 8 in Taco Bell.

Aguilera will appear in 15-, 30- and 60- second versions of a black-and-white PSA from DraftFCB Chicago, to be aired throughout the world. The video features the pop star singing "Beautiful" and graphics illustrating that everyone can help the effort ("All it takes is a dollar and you, hope is in your hands.") Aguilera will also appear in World Hunger Relief in-restaurant posters and in online efforts on the campaign site (FromHungertoHope.com) and other venues.

The marketing plan calls for generating the equivalent of nearly $50 million in awareness through the PSA, ads, PR, online communications and posters.

Consumers can donate through the campaign site or through the sites of any of the Yum chains. The Yum Foundation covers WFP's administrative fees so that funds go directly to feeding poor school children in the developing world and helping villages become self-sustainable. The company's employees and franchisees worldwide volunteer at food banks and conduct fund-raisers to support the campaign.

Since the relief effort was launched in 2007, it has raised $36 million for WFP and other hunger relief organizations, and helped provide more than 160 million meals to about 4 million people.

A new book from Wall Street Journal reporters Roger Thurow and Scott Kilman, Enough: Why The World's Poorest Starve In An Age of Plenty, mentions the Yum relief campaigns.