Celebs and media companies join tsunami relief effort

Celebs and media companies join tsunami relief effort

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Celebrities and media companies are jumping on the tsunami relief effort. Sandra Bullock repeated her 9/11 contribution of $1 million while Leonardo DiCaprio is offering a “sizable” sum to UNICEF to to help out in Thailand, where he filmed The Beach. NBC and its sister channels are running a Jan. 15 fundraiser. Even Rupert Murdoch is finding a heart, writing a $1 million check, matching employee contributions and calling on his media companies to allot airtime for PSAs.

Coca-Cola forked over $10 million (and, along with Pepsi, is making its bottled water available for free) and American Express plopped down $1 million and an employee matching program. And all are promising not to repeat Altria‘s mistake of 2000, when the cigarette company (which promised $1 million for the tsunami victims) spent $100 million advertising its contributions to battered women and flood victim relief efforts – more than it actually donated.

And just like 9/11, commercial spots now deemed offensive are getting pulled, including surfer Laird Hamilton‘s spot for AmEx, which shows him riding huge waves. At least he’s still got that Outside magazine cover.

American Idol reject William Hung, meanwhile, is donating a portion of album and poster sales to the effort – which might almost match the three-digit sum we offered.

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