IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 30, 2007
CONTACT: Gordon Ovenshine:
724-738-4854

gordon.ovenshine@sru.edu

U.S. Army's 'We Want You' campaign invades Slippery Rock University

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. -- The U.S. Army and Hollywood converged at Slippery Rock University last week to tape an Army recruitment video featuring a former student with supporting roles filled by nearly 20 Rock students. The Army plans to post the three-minute informational video on its Web site.

"It was a great experience," Jessica Douglas, a sport management senior from Carlisle who participated in a classroom shot, said. "It was fun to see how commercials are made, and I plan to reference it when I begin searching for a job."

Douglas graduated from Big Spring High School in 2003.

The video is part of the Army's overall campaign to provide information to parents of prospective Army Reserve recruits. The Army hopes that by sharing stories of real people, it will help encourage others to consider an Army career. This video related the personal experiences of one mother and her son, in this case Lisa and Scott Peterson of Grove City. Scott Peterson was a full-time student at SRU studying political science until he was activated in the Army Reserves in 2006. The Army classified him as a student and soldier.

Los Angeles director Peter Kagan shot scenes of Peterson and his mother at their home, as well as shots of Peterson at several campus sites and an Army base in Butler.

A group of Rock students participated in a simulated classroom scene in the Advanced Technology and Science Hall. A makeup artist dabbed faces with blush, and a tech crew adjusted lighting for the shoot that took 90 minutes.

Students were paid $1. Short a few bodies for the classroom effort, the director sent his crew on a reconnaissance mission to Rocky's Grille to find fresh recruits. Army personnel from Kentucky were on campus for the project as well.

The director also taped sequences featuring Peterson in Rocky's, Bailey Library and the climbing wall at the Robert N. Aebersold Student Recreation Center. Rock students at the climbing wall were used as extras.

The Army found Peterson in looking for soldiers with supportive parents who would be willing to discuss the parent's role in their son or daughter's decision to join the Army Reserve, said Brian Bennhoff, executive producer at Streamline Content, the video company that shot the commercial.

Slippery Rock University is Pennsylvania's premier public residential university. Slippery Rock University provides students with a comprehensive learning experience that intentionally combines academic instruction with enhanced educational and learning opportunities that make a positive difference in their lives.