Brad Pitt's Brother Doug Goes Viral

Brad Pitt's Brother Doug Goes Viral

Doug (left) and Brad Pitt

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty;

He's watched his older brother Brad live in the unblinking glare of fame for 25 years. Now, Doug Pitt is getting his 15 minutes and using them to make a difference.

Doug, who runs a family computer business in southwest Missouri, is featured in a new Virgin Mobile ad campaign in Australia that has since gone viral around the world. And he's using the attention to indulge another passion for philanthropy.

"It's a little surreal, but it's fun," Doug tells NBC's Today show of his newfound celebrity. "This whole campaign was to be tongue in cheek and to have fun. And luckily, it's hit its mark."

Doug, who usually keeps a low profile, told hardly anyone that he would be in the campaign. But then the ad's view count climbed over 1 million. "All of a sudden I started getting calls. I panicked!" he says. "But I'm thrilled with the response."

One person he did tell before agreeing to the Virgin job was Brad. "I did call him and said, 'Hey, what do you think?' And he was like, 'Do it. It sounds great!' "

And Brad was amused by the finished commercial, Doug says. "I was out riding my bike and stopped and got a text and it just said, 'Hey, just saw it. Hilarious.' So, I was pleased."

Doug is now using the spotlight to spread the word about the charity he founded Care to Learn, which provides funding and action to meet health, hunger and hygiene issues for lower-income children.


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