By B.L. Ochman @whatsnext
New technology in Soul Asylum’s “Runaway Train 25” music video hopes to locate a new generation of missing children, while updating music’s role in social movements. It’s the “milk carton of the 21st century,” says the website.
The magic happens on the website
For the 25th anniversary, the group is collaborating with Jamie N Commons, Skylar Grey and Gallant to remix Soul Asylum’s hit song Runaway Train. “But it’s more than just a cover song,” the website explains, “it’s a dynamic music video, designed not just for watching, but for bringing home real missing and trafficked kids near you.” For more information about the group do visit cccf .
The original video featured real-life images of missing children, with hopes that they would be recognized and brought home. Amazingly, 21 of the 36 children featured – some of whom had been missing for years – were located and recovered.
In “Runaway Train 25”, Soul Asylum is working with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). A standard version of the video is available on YouTube.
The magic happens when you view the video on the “Runaway Train 25” website. That video automatically updates itself with the profiles of missing children from the NCMEC database based on your location. It also provides links to share the images across Twitter and other social media platforms. The video also shows ways that pedophiles lure children away, and situations where runaways find themselves trapped.
The milk carton of the 21st century
Back in the pre-social media days of 1993, the original Runaway Train video became a top 10 hit on MTV, to which youth of the day (including me) were glued. Social media’s exponentially broader reach offers better chances of the missing children being recognized. Social media exponentially increases the potential reach of the video.
“This video is a game changer,” says NCMEC President and CEO John Clark in press release. “It highlights critical issues runaways face and will show real pictures of missing children. By creating and sharing this video, everyone has the ability to make a difference in their communities.”
B.L. Ochman is a seasoned Writer, content creator, strategist, and producer of podcasts and socially shareable video interviews. Let’s talk about how I can help your company.
