Kelly Nice

Michael Boychuk

In the summer of 2011, when the governor and the Legislature decided to close 70 California state parks, CSPF decided it was time to take action and create some hard-hitting Public Service Announcements (PSAs). We turned to the creative team at San Francisco-based Nice Advertising. The Defend What's Yours PSAs are their creative brainchild, at no cost to CSPF (they really are nice!). Kelly Nice, co-founder and partner of the firm, is a dedicated park advocate and environmentalist. Creative Director Michael Boychuk, who is an avid mountain biker and state park supporter, oversaw the creation of the pieces and directed the voiceover sessions. He is now with the Leo Burnett agency in Chicago.  Working with Nice was Jannie Matheson Gerds on concept development, creative direction, and writing, and Susan Alvarez who also helped with concept development and art direction. Both Jannie and Susan also worked with the film crew in the field.

The PSA videos feature stunning cinematography from award-winning filmmaker Josh Murphy of Unparalleled Productions, based in the Presidio of San Francisco. Josh is a dedicated park supporter and a longtime friend of CSPF. In 2009, with no prompting from CSPF, Josh and some friends produced a series of three hilarious yet poignant videos about Governor Schwarzenegger’s proposal to close the vast majority of the park system: Blair Witch, Duffer, and Smokey. They can be viewed alongside the Defend What’s Yours PSAs on CSPF’s YouTube Channel. Josh was accompanied in the field by Director of Photography Lincoln Else and Gaffer Alan Steinheimer.

These pieces were shot in three California state parks on the closure list: Jug Handle State Natural Reserve, Hendy Woods State Park, and Garrapata State Park. The English voiceovers were recorded by Steven T. Kearney. The Spanish language versions feature the recognized voice of David Cruz, former television anchor of KNBC-TV in Los Angeles and now syndicated news talk anchor of the David Cruz Show on Clear Channel Radio Network.

Defend What's Yours in the news:

KQED Radio: "New Ads Call on Californians to Defend State Parks"

Encinitas Patch: "Nonprofit Launches PSAs in Effort to Stop State Park Closures"

SFGate City Brights: "Defend What’s Yours—Your State Parks"