• Variety, Tuesday, September 8, 2009 9:39 PM

Last night Viacom launched "Get Schooled," a five-year public service campaign developed in conjunction with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The kickoff was a half-hour documentary that was "roadblocked" across all of Viacom's cable networks, including MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central.

Titled "Get Schooled: You Have the Right," the documentary profiled White House speechwriter Sarah Hurwitz and others explaining how they overcame educational hurdles. The campaign also features viral public service announcements from celebrities such as DMC and Asher Roth, as well as a Facebook page, Twitter feeds and a Web site that offers information on scholarships and careers.

Philippe Dauman, CEO of Viacom, says the campaign has been in the planning stages for more than a year. The scope of the endeavor shows that in the ever-more cluttered media environment, the traditional 30-second PSA just isn't cutting it -- especially for kids and teens who have never had more competition for their attention spans.

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