King Features Syndicate and AAA Join Forces in Program Against Teen Texting While Driving
Popular comic strip Zits to help raise awareness of dangers of texting while driving through an array of AAA resources targeted at teens
NEW YORK & ORLANDO, Fla., March 23, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Leading comics syndicate King Features Syndicate and AAA, North America's largest motoring and leisure travel organization, have come together to help put a stop against one of the most dangerous issues currently facing young drivers: texting while driving. According to research by AAA and Seventeen magazine, 24 percent of teen drivers admit to sending a text message while driving in the past 30 days. To help raise awareness and educate teen drivers on this serious issue affecting millions, King Features and AAA are launching an anti-texting while driving program featuring one of today's most popular comic strips, Zits, which chronicles the daily adventures of 16-year-old Jeremy Duncan.
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Zits creators Jim Borgman and Jerry Scott helped bring attention to the risks of texting while driving earlier this week with the start of a special week-long series which found Jeremy at the center of a car crash involving texting. The Zits comic strip appears in more than 1,600 newspapers and has millions of daily readers around the world. As part of the anti-texting while driving campaign, AAA has developed a series of resources for parents and teens on its Keys2Drive website at TeenDriving.AAA.com, which incorporate Zits artwork and strips from the recent texting storyline. The Zits series helps reinforce serious messages in a way that holds the broadest appeal.
Beginning last year, King Features also teamed up with AAA in effort to help keep teens safe on the road by taking part in AAA's StartSmart program which helps families get through the crucial period when teens are learning to drive. An array of Zits comic strips are prominently featured throughout the year-long StartSmart program and its series of e-newsletters that focus on important topics related to teen driver safety and parent involvement such as driving at night, conducting supervised driving and distractions.
About Zits
Distributed by King Features to more than 1,600 newspapers in 45 countries and 15 languages, Zits features the daily adventures of the quintessential teenager. With his loving parents, Walt and Connie Duncan, his best friend, Hector, and his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Sara Toomey, by his side, the perpetually slouching and disheveled Jeremy treads the murky waters of adolescence in oversized sneakers. Zits is the brainchild of Pulitzer Prize-winning artist Jim Borgman, and award-winning cartoonist-writer Jerry Scott, who also co-creates the popular "Baby Blues" strip. Zits established itself early when it launched in July 1997 in more than 200 newspapers – one of the largest start-ups in comics history.
About King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate is a member of Hearst Entertainment and Syndication Group, which combines Hearst Corporation's cable network partnerships, television programming activities, and newspaper syndication and merchandise licensing operations. King Features is the world's premier distributor of comics, columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles and games, distributing in print and online some 150 features to nearly 5,000 newspapers and other outlets around the globe. It is one of the largest and most experienced organizations in merchandise licensing and entertainment. It represents some of the most recognizable global brands, including Betty Boop, Popeye the Sailor Man, Olive Oyl and Romero Britto. For more information, please visit http://www.kingfeatures.com.
About AAA
As North America's largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA provides more than 52 million members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. Since its founding in 1902, the not-for-profit, fully tax-paying AAA has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers. AAA clubs can be visited on the Internet at AAA.com.
AAA news releases, high-resolution images, broadcast-quality video, fact sheets and podcasts are available on the AAA NewsRoom at AAA.com/news.
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