WeHo Wins an Emmy for Drought Public Service Announcement

The City of West Hollywood was awarded an Emmy yesterday for its 60-second public service announcement video: “Winter is Here! But the Drought is Far From Over.”

“Winter is Here!” is a parody on HBO’s Emmy-winning series “Game of Thrones.” Designed as a mock TV-series preview trailer, the video takes viewers on a dramatic journey; however, instead of traveling through the mythical land of Westeros, they travel on a storybook tour of what a fictional West Hollywood may look like if the drought continues. The video is available on the city’s WeHoTV YouTube channel.

The award, which was in the category of Public Service, was made during the Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards presentation at the Saban Media Center at the Television Academy. Accepting the award on behalf of the city were Mayor Lauren Meister, Director of Communications Lisa Marie Belsanti, Public Information Officer Joshua Schare and Assistant to the City Manager Janet Jimenez. Award winners were selected by national and Los Angeles Area peer group members within the Television Academy.

“The City of West Hollywood’s Communications Department consistently produces award-winning materials for community outreach and engagement — I’m proud of this achievement and at the high caliber of the work we do,” Meister said in an announcement of the award. “’This Game of Thrones’-inspired drought parody is just one example of how West Hollywood utilizes creativity and innovation to capture the imaginations of people in our community.”
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Winter is Here! But the Drought is Far From Over” was developed and produced in-house by the city’s Communications Department. Execution of creative services was provided by Zoo Crew Productions (formerly ZooFX), a TV and video production house, and by director Josh Morgerman of Symblaze.

The video was released in partnership with Change the Course, a first-of-its-kind water sustainability campaign that uses its partners — Participant Media, National Geographic Society and the Bonneville Environmental Foundation — to engage communities in understanding how daily choices affect our water use and to inspire people to conserve water. Viewers of the video are encouraged to take the free pledge of support and #changethecourse via text-message (text WEHO to 77177) to restore 1,000 gallons of water to endangered rivers.