The University of Texas at Austin is introducing five new broadcast advertising spots, featuring the voice of world renowned opera star Barbara Conrad, in fall 2010.
The 30-second ads are broadcast during televised NCAA sporting events. The air time is provided to participating universities free of charge. Ads also are shown at sporting events on the university campus.
Conrad has been one of the world's most celebrated mezzo-sopranos over a long and distinguished career. A 1959 graduate of the university, she was at the center of a national civil rights controversy in 1957 when she was removed from the lead role in the opera "Dido and Aeneas" because she was cast opposite a white student who was the male lead. Conrad's life is chronicled in the documentary "When I Rise: The Story of Barbara Smith Conrad," produced by the university's Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.
Four of the new spots extend a tone and concept introduced eight years ago in ads that featured the voice of the late Walter Cronkite, legendary broadcast journalist and university alumnus. Cronkite died in July 2009 at the age of 92. A fifth ad highlights the university's "Hook 'em, Horns" rallying cry. The images in the "Hook 'em" ad were collected from Longhorns around the world who were engaged in the project through social media. All of the ads close with Conrad proclaiming the university's well known and celebrated motto, "What Starts Here Changes the World."
"Our previous ads focused on the university and its relationship to the creative community of Austin," said Don Hale, vice president for public affairs. "Most of the new ads bring the viewer right to the university and display the beauty of the campus."
The ads were produced by the offices of Public Affairs and Development. Original music was created by the Austin-based firm, Tequila Mockingbird.