The Water Sports Industry Association (WSIA) has produced a 30-second television commercial promoting life jacket wear airing on FUEL TV. The WSIA is an active supporter of the National Boating Safety Advisory Council (NBSAC), the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA).
NBSAC and USCG have published a strategic plan aimed at reducing boating fatalities. This plan calls for increased rates of life jacket wear in all aspects of recreational boating. The WSIA has taken a proactive position to help NBSAC and USCG achieve their strategic goals, and this television commercial is designed to do just that.
“This TV commercial speaks to the sport of wakeboarding,” says Larry Meddock, Executive Director of the WSIA. “The WSIA represents all towed water-sports manufacturers, and we want everyone to be wearing a USCG-approved life jacket while engaged in a towed water sport.” Unfortunately, many people do not wear life jackets, according to statistics gathered by industry experts.
The WSIA worked with FUEL TV and WakeBoarding and Alliance magazines to produce this commercial. FUEL TV’s Vice President of Programming, Shon Tomlin, offered the air time if the WSIA would help cover some of the production costs. “We were at the WSIA’s Summit in the Snow in Park City last February when it became clear that there is a need for promoting increased life jacket wear. We saw an opportunity to help and we did,” says Tomlin.
FUEL TV premiered the public-service announcement in its prime-time wakeboarding programming block, “Wake Steady,” on July 1. The PSA now airs throughout the day, seven days a week on the action-sports network. You can also see the commercial by going to www.alliancewake.com or www.wakeboardingmag.com.
About the WSIA: The WSIA is based in Orlando, Florida. For over 30 years, the water-sports industry’s only trade association has represented manufacturers of water-sports equipment worldwide. For more information, contact the WSIA at www.wsia.net or call 407-251-9039.
About FUEL TV: FUEL TV is the action-sports lifestyle network for skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, BMX, freestyle motocross and wakeboarding. A unit of Fox Cable Networks, FUEL TV was launched July 1, 2003, and is seen in 25 million U.S. homes. To subscribe to FUEL TV, call 877-4-FUEL-TV. For program times and other information, visit www.fuel.tv.
