“Don’t Give Up, Don’t Ever Give Up.”
In the past twenty years, those words, spoken by Jim Valvano at the first-ever ESPY Awards have become the mantra of countless people engaged in the fight against cancer.
During this year’s ESPYS, to reintroduce the speech to fans and to honor its 20th anniversary, ESPN presented refreshed version of it, as spoken through the voices of a myriad of athletes and personalities, interspersed with Valvano’s original.
“We wanted to do something special for the 20th anniversary to make sure Jim’s words continue to resonate with the next generation,” said Kevin Martinez, vice president of corporate outreach, ESPN. “We also wanted to pass the torch of responsibility for this vital effort in the fight against cancer. Jim’s words mean as much today as they did when he first said them. And there is still work to be done.”
The V Foundation plans to utilize this creative execution as a basis for a new slate of PSAs that will be rolled out over the next year. MaggieVision, who produces the ESPYS and produced this spot in coordination with the V Foundation and ESPN, will continue to capture additional athlete voices to be weaved into future iterations of the campaign. Many athletes attending the ESPYS will have an opportunity to record their versions during the lead up to the 2013 ESPY Awards. “The spots will change over time as more and more athletes, coaches and personalities join us in this latest opportunity to help fulfill Jim’s goal of eradicating this dreaded disease,” added Martinez.
Athletes and personalities featured in this first piece include:
- Carmelo Anthony, member of the New York Knickerbocker NBA Team
- Landon Donovan, American soccer player – Los Angeles Galaxy and the United States men’s national team
- Tony Gonzalez, tight end for the Atlanta Falcons
- Grant Hill, retired professional basketball player
- Kerri Walsh Jennings, Olympic champion, beach volleyball player
- Colin Kaepernick, quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers
- Eli Manning, quarterback for the New York Giants
- Candace Parker, member of the Los Angeles Sparks WNBA Team
- Danica Patrick, American auto racing driver
- Robin Roberts, host of Good Morning America and recipient of The Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the 2013 ESPY Awards
- Bill Self, men’s basketball coach, University of Kansas
- Dick Vitale, Sportscaster
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