Fuse is fuel for fury. MTV doesn't like their tone.

Fuse adcampaign struts out Sally Struthers, this time she's pleading with us to "save the music video".

Today when Mel Karmazin, head of Viacom, arrives at the MTV office in New York city, a giant Times Square billboard outside his office featuring Sally will be his view. A rival music channel ordered the poster installed overnight to 'tweak' what it called MTV's "lack of music" in it's programming.

Telephone kiosks just outside the MTV offices will carry the anti-MTV slogans as well.

Fuse yesterday distributed about 2 million free cups bearing another punning anti-MTV slogan: "Where's the M in emptee-vee?"

Sources at Fuse said MTV COO Mark Rosenthal had called CEO Josh Sapan, Rainbow Media Holdings which own Fuse to complain that the cups were " a personal affront"

Josh Sapan invited Rosenthal for coffee but he declined.

Ironically, Viacom owns both the billboard, and the telephone Kiosks outside the MTV offices.

spotted by : Clayton/adlist at teenmusic

Sally Struthers is well-known for two things: her comedic acting and her charitable work. She is an Emmy Award-winning actress who starred in a long-running public service campaign that raised millions for an international charity. Recently, Struthers has teamed up with Fuse, a new music network launching on May 19th, to tackle a new cause – saving the music video! Struthers will appear in a series of humorous print ads and billboards that encourage television viewers to “Please… Help Save Music Videos. Watch Fuse.” The ad campaign will debut on May 15th and will announce the launch of Fuse, which was previously known as MuchMusic USA.

“Anyone watching tv lately knows there’s just not much music left in ‘music television.’ But luckily, the music video has found a champion in Fuse,” said Struthers. “I’m flattered Fuse has called on me to use my proven call-to-action approach to help save the music video from extinction.”

“Sally Struthers – who else could we turn to at this time when the music television industry is in such a state of crisis, when viewers see more about the homes musicians live in and the cars they drive than the videos they make?” stated Marc Juris, president of Fuse. “I wouldn’t trust anyone else but Struthers with the awesome responsibility of saving the music video, of bearing the weight of spearheading this mighty cause for music!”

Fuse is a music-oriented destination that caters to the rapidly changing interests and attitudes of its audience. The Struthers advertising campaign was created to reach out to these viewers in a humorous and tongue-in-cheek way. It is part of Fuse's innovative branding strategy that includes a dynamic logo, ever-changing taglines, and viral marketing. The campaign takes a dig at other music networks that air less and less actual music. The ads feature a worried Struthers along with headlines such as "Thousands of music videos go unplayed every day," "Watching just 3 minutes a day can make a difference," and "A music video is being neglected right now."

The upcoming advertisements will be seen all over New York City until mid-July, on billboards, bus shelters, phone kiosks, MTA buses, vendor umbrellas and wild postings. Moreover, they will be featured in various advertising and broadcast trade publications in May and June.

Fuse network is set to host a two-hour "Save the Music Video" benefit concert and telethon to mark its rebranding. The event will be live from its new street-front studios in midtown Manhattan, encouraging viewers to pledge hours to watch music videos and ensure their survival. The telethon will take place on Monday, May 19, from 5-7 PM, and will feature live in-studio performances, along with pleas for pledges by the network's VJs and its president, Marc Juris. It will also be the official opening of New York's newest street-front television studio at 11 Penn Plaza.

The network will also carry out a guerilla marketing campaign that day on the streets of Manhattan to further promote its May 19 launch. One tactic will involve "fundraisers" styled after the Salvation Army, complete with handbells, megaphones, and sandwich boards branded with the Sally Struthers advertisements, asking for donations of time to watch more music videos. The "fundraisers" will be placed at high-traffic, prominent locations throughout the city.

Fuse is the only all-music, viewer-influenced television network in the nation, featuring music videos, exclusive artist interviews, live concerts, and specials, all rooted in music. It reflects the rapidly changing interests and attitudes of its audience by uniting the media platforms that are at the center of their communication and entertainment - TV, online, and interactive games - and by incorporating their opinions and suggestions into its on-air and online programming. For more information about Fuse, visit www.fuse.tv.