Skyrocketed to fame by their hit song “I’m on a Boat,” the comedy troupe The Lonely Island is now making a splash in local waters with its promise of $250,000 to the Berkeley Unified School District.
The group’s members, Saturday Night Live actors Andy Samberg, Akiva “Kiv” Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, have been friends since they attended Berkeley’s Willard Middle School. Now, they are going to give their old school district the biggest single donation it has ever seen, Berkeleyside reported.
The Doritos’ Crash the Super Bowl competition allowed consumers to submit 30-second commercials, one of which would air during the Super Bowl Sunday. The Lonely Island had originally planned to submit an ad that would also air, but decided to give up their 30-second slot to another consumer-created ad.
As a reward for The Lonely Island’s generosity, the Doritos brand vowed to give a quarter of a million dollars to the music group’s charity of choice — which was the Berkeley Unified School District.
“The Lonely Island guys are a class act, and they have embraced what this contest is about beyond our expectations,” said Tony Matta, vice president of marketing, Frito-Lay North America, in a January press release. “Their generosity will now create a life-changing opportunity for two of our consumers, and we plan to pay that forward by making a donation of $250,000 to the charity The Lonely Island was competing for, the Berkeley Unified School District.”
The Lonely Island was formed in 2001, and in addition to “I’m on a Boat,” is famous for its skits “Lazy Sunday,” “Jizz in my Pants,” and the Emmy-winning “Dick in a Box.”
Soumya Karlamangla is the city news editor.
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