VH1 Classic to Air the Classic 80s Music Video '99 Luftballons' for an Entire Hour on Sunday, March 26

VH1 Classic to Air the Classic 80s Music Video '99 Luftballons' for an Entire Hour on Sunday, March 26

Music Video Presentation Caps Off Network's $200,000 Fundraising Campaign for Mercy Corps' Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts

NEW YORK, March 22 /PRNewswire/ -- VH1 Classic will air Nena's classic music video for "99 Luftballons," well, not 99 times in a row, but pretty close on Sunday, March 26 from 2:00 to 3:00 PM/ET.

VH1 Classic, the home of music lovers' favorite music videos, will bring viewers a full hour of "99 Luftballons" to cap off its "Pay To Play for Hurricane Katrina Relief" fundraising campaign. The initiative raised over $200,000 for the humanitarian relief organization Mercy Corps and its Hurricane Katrina efforts.

The VH1 Classic campaign centered around a music video-thon, where viewers could request one video to be played on VH1 Classic for every $25 donation made to Mercy Corps through VH1 Classic's web site (http://www.vh1classic.com/). Donors were notified by email when their video request would be played. And for a $35,000 donation, renowned pop culture artist Peter Max would paint donors very own portrait and they also got to program VH1 Classic for a full hour with favorite music videos from the 60s, 70s, 80s and early 90s.

But one viewer has chosen to do something different for his allotted hour that he purchased through the music-thon. He has requested the music video for the 1984 hit "99 Luftballons" by German group Nena. Both the English and German versions will play continuously throughout the hour.

Mercy Corps is an international humanitarian relief organization currently providing assistance to families in the Gulf Coast who have been impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, VH1 launched a new public affairs umbrella initiative "Get Up Stand Up" in conjunction with Mercy Corps to help carry out short-term and long-term relief efforts. The campaign kicked off at the taping of VH1's 2nd Annual "Hip Hop Honors" in New York City where artists dropped off their donated relief items. A truck filled with the items, including "Comfort Kit" backpacks of school supplies for kids, drove to the Mercy Corps Gulf Coast command center in Baton Rouge, LA where the donations were distributed to specific disaster areas.

Mercy Corps works amid disasters, conflicts, chronic poverty and instability to unleash the potential of people who can win against impossible odds. Since 1979, Mercy Corps has provided $1 billion in assistance to people in 81 nations. Currently, the organization's 2,100 staff worldwide reaches 7 million people in more than 35 countries. Over 92 percent of the agency's resources are allocated to programs that help people in need. For more information, visit http://www.mercycorps.org/.

Launched in May 2000, VH1 Classic is a 24-hour network that presents music videos, concerts and music specials featuring classic rock, soul and pop artists from the 60s, 70s and 80s. Featured artists include The Beatles, The Stones, Tina Turner, Led Zeppelin, Marvin Gaye, The Who, Stevie Wonder, The Police and many more. Learn more at http://www.vh1classic.com/.

Contact: Maura Wozniak/VH1

212-846-7325

Source: VH1 Classic

CONTACT: Maura Wozniak of VH1, +1-212-846-7325

Web site: http://www.vh1classic.com/
http://www.mercycorps.org/

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