There probably isn’t anyone between the ages of 10 and 100 years of age in North America who hasn’t heard of Justin Bieber. The Canadian singer’s humble roots began in London, Ont. where he was discovered, and within a very short amount of time, he skyrocketed to international fame.
But, did you know about the time he almost became a damage prevention spokesperson?
As stories like this often go, fate played a huge role in Justin Bieber’s brush with damage prevention and safety. As it turns out, his father, Jeremy, was acquainted with a TC Energy employee in Winnipeg, Man. long before Justin became famous. On trips to Manitoba to visit his dad, Justin would spend time with the employee’s family and befriended their kids. As time moved on, and Justin’s musical career took shape, he continued to see his friends in Manitoba. When things got REALLY big, it became a little more challenging but he still made time to connect.
In 2010, TC Energy and the Canadian Common Ground Alliance were presented with an opportunity to promote damage prevention awareness - Justin Bieber had agreed to film a Call Before You Dig public service announcement (back then, ClickBeforeYouDig wasn’t yet the call-to-action and everyone was promoting Call Before You Dig). Logistics were worked out — Justin’s current tour had him in Winnipeg in September and he agreed to take some time to film the segment. Arrangements were made and we waited.
Following the concert at the MTS Centre on Sept. 14, 2010, a security threat suddenly took Justin out of town and we found ourselves in a pickle. Everything was ready for the shoot but we were without our star attraction.
Justin’s dad, Jeremy, was a contractor. He knew about Call Before You Dig. We decided we’d make lemonade with these lemons!
Jeremy came in and we shot the segment and while it didn’t generate the impact we were hoping, Jeremy Bieber’s public service announcement has been viewed over 9,000 times!
Mike Sullivan – President, USP