Yoko Ono and EMI Music have partnered with YouTube for worldwide tributes honoring John Lennon to mark his 70th birthday (October 9).
YouTube will honor John Lennon with a homepage spotlight starting at 9pm PT on Friday, October 8th and staying active for 24 hours. The spotlight will include a personal video from Yoko Ono, asking people around the world to submit videotaped tributes to John Lennon.
Video testimonials from Lennon’s friends and fans, including Ringo Star, Brian Wilson, Aerosmith, the Jonas Brothers, Jeff Bridges, Tony Hawk and Bret Michaels, will also be included in YouTube’s homepage spotlight.
"I hope you’ll join me and a family of peace around the world to celebrate this very special day," said Yoko Ono. "Send in your own video tribute to YouTube, and we will share in keeping John’s memory alive."
YouTube has also created a global Yoodle of the YouTube logo, to be launched in 25 countries at 9pm PT on Friday, October 8th and to remain live for 24 hours. The Yoodle will be synced to cover Lennon’s October 9th birthday in all regions.
Google has created its first-ever video doodle, which presents sketched animation featuring John Lennon’s self-portrait set to an audio clip of Lennon’s iconic song, "Imagine." It was created by Google doodler, Mike Dutton, with Yoko Ono’s approval. The Google doodle will be live on Google homepages all over the world starting noon on Friday, October 8th and all day Saturday, October 9th until midnight.
