Help me find this Comedy World Peace PSA from my youth?
September 23, 2015 5:02 PM Subscribe
Inspired by JHarris's HA! FPP, I had a sudden flashback to a promo that appeared frequently one of those comedy cable channels back in the early nineties. It was a strange promo in that it was advertising not a show but world peace. Middle school-aged me could never figure out whether it was sincere or not.
Additional details I remember:
Additional details I remember:
- Black and white
- Featured a band with an Edie Brickell-ish singer and maybe a guitarist and/or a guy with congas.
- The lyrics of the song sung by the band included the words "speak the universal language" and "bring hope home."
- Intercut with the band were shots of a diverse array of sad-looking people -- a lonely guy, a mother and child. These people stood centerscreen in midshot, and in a very early 90s music video sort of way, various filtered lights would randomly flicker over them.
- The last line of the commercial was a voice saying "world peace is no joke."
Best answer: My daughter remembers that PSA, so she asked me to post this for her:
I know you have a Metafilter account, so I thought I would pass this on. Post a reply if you want to or not. I thought I'd offer it up, since I can affirm, that yes it certainly did exist, if you choose to post it. You might even remember the PSA yourself. I certainly talked about it enough at the time, and learned the song.
While trying to dig up a video clip for a particular public service announcement that used to be appear on The Comedy Channel before it merged with Ha! to become Comedy Central, I stumbled on an Ask MeFi post from last September. Someone was remembering that same PSA (and was only 11 at the time, apparently. Young whippersnapper.) I haven't been able to find the video either, but I certainly remember it. A woman, and a man with guitar, and the woman sang about world peace. Interspersed with clips of their performance were people of various ethnicities, looking solemnly at the camera while a light in the form of a peace symbol glided across them. Most of the PSA had a blue filter over it, though the parts with the singer had some color. I remember her jacket had gold and red tones among the blue, and I also remember I wanted that damn jacket. It was around the time that the Gulf War was starting up in 1991-ish and I was getting my hippy on over it, and the song started appearing about that time. It caught me, its message, its images, its song. I even memorized the lyrics and can sing it to this day.
"We carry peace in the new year
Reaching to stop the hands of time
Do it with the universal language
And the reign of love will survive
We all walk on the same bridge
In this whole wide world
Shake it too hard
Everyone, everyone will fall
Brave the years to come
Have a life to live
Bring hope home
Come on, let's bring hope home"
And it ended with three symbols like patches down the arm of a jacket: The planet earth, the peace sign, and the word joke with the circle and slash over it, and a voice-over saying "World peace is no joke." It may have been showing up on the comedy channel, but the message was sincerely meant and it definitely showed in the way the PSA was put together. And obviously made enough of an impact, at least on me, that I still carry a vivid memory of it after all this time.
posted by path at 4:23 PM on February 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
I know you have a Metafilter account, so I thought I would pass this on. Post a reply if you want to or not. I thought I'd offer it up, since I can affirm, that yes it certainly did exist, if you choose to post it. You might even remember the PSA yourself. I certainly talked about it enough at the time, and learned the song.
While trying to dig up a video clip for a particular public service announcement that used to be appear on The Comedy Channel before it merged with Ha! to become Comedy Central, I stumbled on an Ask MeFi post from last September. Someone was remembering that same PSA (and was only 11 at the time, apparently. Young whippersnapper.) I haven't been able to find the video either, but I certainly remember it. A woman, and a man with guitar, and the woman sang about world peace. Interspersed with clips of their performance were people of various ethnicities, looking solemnly at the camera while a light in the form of a peace symbol glided across them. Most of the PSA had a blue filter over it, though the parts with the singer had some color. I remember her jacket had gold and red tones among the blue, and I also remember I wanted that damn jacket. It was around the time that the Gulf War was starting up in 1991-ish and I was getting my hippy on over it, and the song started appearing about that time. It caught me, its message, its images, its song. I even memorized the lyrics and can sing it to this day.
"We carry peace in the new year
Reaching to stop the hands of time
Do it with the universal language
And the reign of love will survive
We all walk on the same bridge
In this whole wide world
Shake it too hard
Everyone, everyone will fall
Brave the years to come
Have a life to live
Bring hope home
Come on, let's bring hope home"
And it ended with three symbols like patches down the arm of a jacket: The planet earth, the peace sign, and the word joke with the circle and slash over it, and a voice-over saying "World peace is no joke." It may have been showing up on the comedy channel, but the message was sincerely meant and it definitely showed in the way the PSA was put together. And obviously made enough of an impact, at least on me, that I still carry a vivid memory of it after all this time.
posted by path at 4:23 PM on February 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
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posted by Rev. Syung Myung Me at 5:51 PM on September 24, 2015