Launching on Monday, April 2, the television advertisement is aimed at boys ages 9 to 13 years by demonstrating how reading can help anyone succeed in almost any endeavor. The commercial begins with Hawk unsuccessfully trying to master a difficult skateboarding trick. Later in the ad, he is shown reading and telling viewers how reading is a much less painful way to learn. Hawk said that reading changed his life by making him realize that skateboarding was his destiny, after reading an issue of Skateboarder magazine at age 9. He was approached to star in a READ California commercial because of his celebrity status, his passion for reading and his appeal to children, especially among pre-teen boys.
Boys are an important group to target in an effort to promote recreational reading.
According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, boys on average perform at a lower reading achievement level than girls. Through this commercial spot, we are hoping to reach out to his young fans and impress upon them the great importance of reading. The ad campaign is the creation of advertising agency Lawrence, Mayo and Ponder of Newport Beach, California. READ California Background Administered by the Governor's Office of the Secretary for Education, the READ California campaign is designed to encourage children and their parents to make reading a top priority early in life and to involve all Californians in the critical task of ensuring that children read every day. READ California is a result of legislation proposed by Governor Gray Davis and enacted by the State Legislature in the 1999 Special Legislative Session on Education.