Boy Throb Sings Out for Safe Water in Boppin' PSA

Viral sensations say, 'Every Penny Counts'

What’s the best way to reach Gen Z on a pressing social issue? Try dressing the world’s hottest boy band like Abe Lincoln. Never fails. Honest.

Boy Throb headlines the self-consciously goofy PSA below. At one point, they don stove-pipe hats and fake beards while busting furious moves. Dudes croon about the need for safe drinking water and praise pennies—which of course bear the face of our 16th president.

Their pitch: through Aug. 23, fans sharing photos of 1 cent pieces on IG or Facebook tagged @charitywater—the nonprofit behind the push—will generate $40 per post from private patrons.

“They occasionally get donors who want to give a single large sum, and those are usually deployed as a match, which is very common in the charity space,” explains Alex Goulart, ECD/founder of Fire Kite, which helped develop the campaign. “In this case, the goal is reach and awareness, not fundraising.”

Justin Cipriani directed the clip, which boasts an earworm from songwriter Maria Christensen.

“You’d be shocked if you knew what pennies still do,
How a whole lot of Lincolns can get people drinkin’
That fresh water, clean water—
Don’t waste that sweet copper.”

The work leverages news of the coin’s retirement and defies category tropes by trading guilt and stark imagery for upbeat entertainment. That approach should stand out, especially for a young audience vibing on Boy Throb mania. It taps into highly-publicized efforts to procure a visa for band member Darshan so he can perform in the U.S. That quest, which succeeded, gave the group a big visibility boost. The amusing clip almost feels more like a straight-up music video than a charity appeal. So: Winner.

Here, Goulart and Charity Water associate director of content Morgan Koetting put Muse in the know:

How did Boy Throb get involved?

Morgan Koetting: Boy Throb genuinely cares about ending the water crisis. Boy Throb’s fans showed up to help get Darshan his visa. They made noise, they shared and they pushed until something changed. That community-driven energy is exactly what the water crisis needs. If the Throb Mob can move a government, they can move a generation.

So, you’re targeting their fans? Gen-Z?

Morgan Koetting: Boy Throb’s fanbase is Gen-Z and millennials who are highly social, highly participatory and actively looking for ways to use their platforms for good. When they see their favorite band show up for something real, they show up too. Part of what drew Boy Throb to charity: water was our 100 percent Model. We promise and prove every public donation goes directly to support clean, safe drinking water…down to the last penny. So, when the penny went into retirement, giving it one final mission just made sense. In the music video, Boy Throb challenges everyone to post a photo of the penny and tag us. It turns every person who participates into an ambassador for the water crisis.

Looks like everyone had fun at the shoot.

Alex Goulart: When we finally got a full greenlight to move forward from clients and Boy Throb, we had 10 days to shoot. Our producer Charlie Colombo and the production company Gear Seven worked absolute magic to pull it together. Many people went far and beyond to make this happen at breakneck speed, for an extremely limited budget. We built the “moody room” you see in the beginning of the video the day before the shoot, and brought in a water floor to dial up the water vibes.

I like the lighthearted vibe vs. preachiness … discuss.

Morgan Koetting: We’ve always believed in hope over guilt. The water crisis is real and urgent, but we’re not here to make people feel bad about turning on their tap. We’re here to make them believe they can actually do something about the people who can’t. Boy Throb’s whole story is about refusing to accept “no” [during the visa fight]. And we refuse to accept living in a world where not everyone has access to clean and safe water.

Alex Goulart: When it comes to a brief that can help people get clean water and ultimately save lives, more of the same cliché charity advertising is downright irresponsible. So in answering the brief, we took the creative in a tonal direction intended to entertain people instead of shaming them.

The Abe Lincoln dance was especially amusing.

Alex Goulart: Glenn Packard, former choreographer for NSYNC and Michael Jackson, came down with two of his students to teach Boy Throb their parts. Because they were so good, we decided to add all three of them as Abe Lincoln backup dancers, two days before the shoot.

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