Chevrolet has put together the MLK Reading Project, a digital platform designed to let Americans honor King's influence and achievements. Chevy encourages fans to go to to the site to leave videos of themselves recording his quotes and share them with others.
The push includes a 30-second video featuring testimonials from "Regular Joes" applying the MLK quote, "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." For instance, a doorman at an unnamed city tells the camera, "Moving here alone was scary, but I've known my whole life that this is the place for me." The video also promotes The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial, which is set to open on August 28 in Washington, D.C.
The effort was created by SS+K and Spike DDB with input from Big Fuel, whose first campaign for General Motors was a location-based scavenger hunt promoting Buick's new line. Big Fuel, which recently opened a Detroit office to service GM, also announced it was hiring Jon Bond, co-founder of traditional agency Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal + Partners, as CEO, a move seen as part of Madison Avenue's continued recognition of social media as a new force in the advertising industry.