This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Today, Google becomes the latest company to support Bob Marley's Save the Children campaign for East Africa.
Google will support the cause through a link to the campaign video on its homepage today, August 18. Other organisations already on-board include Universal Music Group, Yahoo!, Facebook, MSN, YouTube and Twitter.The huge social media campaign has already unified the entertainment world, with over 150 of the world's most powerful and influential musicians, artists, sports stars and celebrities all posting details on the campaign. Hundreds of millions of Facebook and Twitter (#beafriend) fans have been able to view a short film of the crisis in East Africa created by award-winning director Kevin MacDonald from footage of East Africa. The film is set to the 1973 Bob Marley & The Wailers song 'High Tide or Low Tide'.Icons, celebrities and artists across the world who have posted details include: Eminem, Lady Gaga, Jay Z, David Beckham, U2, Beyonce, The Rolling Stones, Muhammad Ali, Jennifer Lopez, Muse, Coldplay, Elton John, Black Eye Peas, Lewis Hamilton, Britney Spears, Bruno Mars, Robert Plant, Kanye West, Madonna, Cristiano Ronaldo, Justin Bieber, Brian May, Sting and Rihanna (above).The 'I'm Gonna Be Your Friend' campaign was developed to support Save the Children's appeal to raise funds for the devastating food crisis affecting millions of children and their families across East Africa. The food crisis across East Africa is the worst in decades. 10 million people are affected – many have no food, no water and have lost all their livestock. Six million across the region need immediate humanitarian assistance. Save the Children and other aid agencies have launched a huge emergency response across the region and are on the ground delivering life-saving aid.Helping raise funds for food, water and medicine for those in East Africa, the song and film can be downloaded through ITunes, from http://www.imgonnabeyourfriend.org or via Bob Marley's Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/bobmarley for $1.29. The Facebook page will also feature click-through links for direct donations to Save the Children's East Africa appeal.