'Glee,' American Express team up for social action

Actor Matthew Morrison (R) and actress Lea Michele of television series ''Glee'' perform at the American Theatre Wing's 64th annual Tony Awards ceremony in New York June 13, 2010.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hit television show "Glee" and credit card company American Express have joined forces on a new social action campaign to inspire viewers to make a difference in their communities.

The call to charitable action -- a partnership between U.S. TV network Fox, which airs "Glee," and American Express's philanthropic division, Members Only -- kicks off Wednesday on the Web and TV with video vignettes written, directed and produced by the creative team behind the show and starring its actors, in character. Four videos will air on Fox at night.

This Friday, a 60-second black-and-white vignette starring Emmy winner Jane Lynch as her cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester will debut in movie theaters across the country.

"Some people want to do good, some people don't. Which one are you?" the campaign asks fans and urges them to go tomembersproject.com/glee and find out how to volunteer, vote, donate and affect change.

Once online, the journey gets more interactive with a quiz and Facebook and Twitter updates from the "Glee" characters among other things.

There is also a sweepstakes where 10 winners will get to fly to Los Angeles and engage in actual volunteer work with members of the "Glee" cast, who include Lynch, Lea Michele, Matthew Morrison and Chris Colfer.

The show follows members of a high school glee club as they deal with the everyday trials of being typical U.S. teens and, of course, compete with other singing groups. It has become a hit with audiences and critics in only one year on TV.

Fox Broadcasting executive vice president of sales Jean Rossi said that at it's core, 'Glee' is an inspirational program that "reflects the authenticity of individuals taking small steps to take charge of their lives."

Marie Devlin, a senior vice president in advertising at American Express added, "'Glee' is such an incredibly popular show and it's values of giving back and doing good align with our cardmembers."

The second season of 'Glee' debuts on September 21. This past Sunday night at the Emmy Awards telecast, Lynch won a best supporting actress Emmy for her work on "Glee." Series creator Ryan Murphy took home best comedy direction.

(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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