NBC LAUNCHES RED NOSE DAY SOCIAL AND DIGITAL INITIATIVES WITH PROMINENT PARTNERSHIPS, CELEBRITY SHAREABLE CONTENT AND ENGAGING INTERACTIVE CAMPAIGNS

NBC's Red Nose Day Partners with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with Innovative Social Media Fundraising Approach across Twitter and Instagram

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - May 21, 2015 - NBC launches social and digital campaigns to raise awareness, participation and donations across the country on the eve of the first U.S. broadcast of Red Nose Day on Thursday, May 21 (8-11 P.M. ET). Partnerships with prominent donors, high profile celebrities, musicians and social influencers all coming together to help lift children and young people out of poverty in the U.S. and in some of the poorest communities in the world.

Partnerships:

As a part of NBC's Red Nose Day campaign, NBC and Red Nose Day have partnered with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for an innovative social media approach to fundraising. Starting Thursday 5/21, the Gates Foundation will donate $25 to the Red Nose Day Fund when you post your red nose photo on Twitter or Instagram with #RedNose25 (limited to one donation per social media account). You can track the Gates Foundation donations at http://nbc.com/rednose25 .

Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people's health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people - especially those with the fewest resources - have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Sue Desmond-Hellmann and Co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett. For more information visit: www.gatesfoundation.org.

"With so many high-profile celebrities coming together to participate - through comedic sketches, music and videos - and the generous donation of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Red Nose Day is a rich repository of creative and shareable content," said Rob Hayes, EVP, Digital, NBC Entertainment, "providing the NBC Digital team with unique and innovative opportunities to expand the reach of the broadcast through a variety of interactive campaigns. In this respect, we hope to engage viewers as we all work together in support of this very worthy cause "

Celebrity Driven Content:

NBC and Red Nose Day secured newsworthy content to tease the incredible night of comedy, releasing clips featuring the cast of "Pitch Perfect," "Orange is the New Black," "The Voice" and more. This week NBC will release an exclusive series of music comedy pieces by Coldplay and Funny or Die, featuring the cast of "Game of Thrones." Check out clips at:

Coldplay Game of Thrones: The Musical - Peter Dinklage http://bit.ly/ColdplayGOTRedNose.

Orange is the New Black Reservoir Dogs - Female Reboot http://www.nbc.com/red-nose-day/video/reservoir-bitches-with-the-cast-of-orange-is-the-new-black/2867162

To engage new audiences, NBC also worked YouTube and Social influencers, including the "Queens of Lip-Sync" SketchShe for a custom Red Nose Day Lip Sync video. Watch a teaser clip at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkZL_Tw8KMk

Additionally, and in the final 24 hours before the broadcast, NBC.com will livestream Nick Cannon's Danceathon from the NBC Experience Store at Rockefeller Center in New York City, the day of dance will be filled with guest DJs and musicians, celebrity drop-ins, and a variety of dance acts and troupes. Viewers can support Cannon's endeavor through sponsorship and donation. The Danceathon livestream begins at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday, May 20 and can be viewed at http://www.nbc.com/danceathon.

Interactive Campaigns:

NBC also launched the #RedNose Social Avatar campaign - a social activism campaign to change out avatars on all social platforms across NBC programming, NBC talent, celebrities, and the general public starting Monday, May 18 through Thursday, May 21 . Simply download the Red Nose Day app and digitally add a red nose to your photo, upload your red nose photo, change your avatar and share the photo using #RedNose. You can find the app at: www.nbc.com/rednosedayapp

Red Nose Day inspired Bitmojis were also created to boost the interactive campaign. Start sharing RND Bitmojis, tag friends and encourage them to share their Bitmojis too. Let's see your #RedNoseBitmoji! Download the Bitmoji app at: http://www.bitmoji.com.

"Red Nose Day," a live three-hour entertainment event, will feature sketch comedy, parodies, videos produced by Funny Or Die, live musical performances and short appeals films that shed light on those in need. With a focus on having fun, raising money and changing lives, the star-studded event will aim to help lift children and young people out of poverty in the U.S. and in some of the poorest communities in the world.

Created by film director/writer Richard Curtis ("Notting Hill," "Bridget Jones Diary," "Love Actually"), Red Nose Day is an enormously popular annual event in the U.K. that has raised more than $1 billion over the past 30 years. Red Nose Day, inspired and supported by Comic Relief U.K., is coming to the U.S. for the first time with the live broadcast on May 21.

The money raised during Red Nose Day will fund programs that address the immediate needs of children and young people living in poverty in the U.S., Africa, Asia and Latin America. Our charity partners include Boys & Girls Clubs of America; charity: water; Children's Health Fund; Feeding America; Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; the Global Fund; LIFT; National Council of La Raza; National Urban League; Oxfam America; Save the Children and United Way.

Richard Curtis is an executive producer for the NBC telecast (a Universal Television production), along with Hamish Hamilton and Ian Stewart of Done + Dusted Productions. Henrietta Conrad and Lily Sobhani will also serve as executive producers, as will Mike Farah, Anna Wenger and Joe Farrell from Funny Or Die. Hamilton is set to direct.

About Red Nose Day: Red Nose Day was created to raise money to help children and young people living in poverty in the United States and some of the poorest communities around the world. The inaugural Red Nose Day will be held on Thursday May 21, 2015. The day's events will culminate in a three-hour entertainment TV special on NBC, featuring the country's favorite comedians, musicians and Hollywood stars. Money raised will go to the Red Nose Day Fund, a program of Comic Relief, Inc., a registered 501(c)(3) public charity. The Red Nose Day Fund will distribute the money raised by the Red Nose Day campaign to charity partners whose work helps to achieve Comic Relief, Inc.'s vision of a just world free from poverty.

Follow Red Nose Day's social handles: https://twitter.com/RedNoseDayUS https://www.facebook.com/RedNoseDayUSA https://instagram.com/rednosedayusa Red Nose Day Site http://nbc.com/red-nose-day