Rob Schneider Fights for Cork

Actor Rob Schneider is the latest in a long line of celebrities who’s realized he can use his vast talents to fight for a noble cause.

The comedian and Saturday Night Live alum stars in a new viral marketing campaign aimed at bolstering the sagging cork industry. Apparently, as wine connoisseurs gradually accept the trend of twist-off caps and synthetic stoppers, they also put one of Portugal’s major industries at risk. The country produces over half of the world’s cork, and demand has been deteriorating in recent years.

The industry has initiated a viral campaign of ambiguous newspaper ads, t-shirts and internet videos that encourage us to “Save Miguel”, but offer no further explanation. The messages are the beginning of a wider effort to convince consumers that buying products with authentic cork is the socially responsible and environmentally friendly thing to do.

SaveMiguel.com features a single YouTube video starring Rob Schneider that masquerades as a trailer for a full-length film. In it, Schneider travels around the city and countryside searching for someone named “Miguel”. Though the video never reveals this, “Miguel” is the name of a cork forest in Portugal.

(Photo of corks in the wine glass by Jeff Smallwood)