The Muppets' "Ode to Joy" Nominated for Best Music Video in the 13th Annual Webby Awards
Fans have embraced the Muppets' Online Videos - Now they can help Beaker win the Internet's top honor.
Burbank, CA, April 17, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Burbank, CA based Soapbox Films announced today that its "Ode to Joy" web video, starring Beaker from the Muppets, has been nominated in the Music category for Online Film & Video in the 13th Annual Webby Awards.
Hailed as the "Internet's highest honor" by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet.
"Ode to Joy" is the result of a creative collaboration between Soapbox Films and Disney's The Muppets Studio to produce original content exclusively for online video sharing sites. Strategically positioned as user-generated content created and uploaded by the Muppet characters themselves, the videos entertain worldwide on sites such as YouTube, MySpace and Vimeo, with a total view count of over 9.5 million to date.
Lovable lab assistant Beaker's take on Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is the breakout favorite. "Ode to Joy" raced to more than 2 million views in its first two weeks of release and currently boasts over 5 million views. The five-star rated clip ranks as YouTube's #33 Top Favorited Entertainment video of all time.
"Ode to Joy" and other videos from the campaign have been featured in such influential new media outlets as The Huffington Post, Gawker, /Film, Videogum and Wonkette, as well as traditional media heavyweights like Entertainment Weekly and The New York Times.
"Nominees like 'Ode to Joy' are setting the standard for innovation and creativity on the Internet," says David-Michel Davies, executive director of the Webby Awards. "It is an incredible achievement to be selected among the best from the nearly 10,000 entries we received this year."
"Working with the Muppets has been a lifelong-dream come true for us," says Soapbox Films president Christopher Alender, "and it was an honor to help catapult this ever-groundbreaking franchise into the 21st Century."
"The digital age is perfect for the Muppets," adds Soapbox Films creative director Andrew Williams, "YouTube is essentially the world's largest variety show, and there's no way Beaker, Fozzie, Gonzo, and the rest of the gang would miss out on it."
As a nominee, "Ode to Joy" is also eligible to win a Webby People's Voice Award, which is chosen online by the global web community. From now until April 30th, fans of "Ode to Joy" can cast their votes in The Webby People's Voice Awards at http://pv.webbyawards.com.
Winners will be announced on May 5th, 2009 and honored at a ceremony in New York City on June 8th hosted by comedian Seth Meyers. If selected, monosyllabic Beaker may get his chance to deliver one of the Webby's famous five-word speeches. Past Webby Award winners - and their speeches - include Al Gore ("Please don't recount this vote."), Beastie Boys ("Can anyone fix my computer?"), and Stephen Colbert ("Me. Me. Me. Me. Me.").
The Webby Awards is presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 650 person judging academy whose members include Internet co-inventor Vinton Cerf, R/GA's Chief Bob Greenberg, "Simpsons" creator Matt Groening, Arianna Huffington, and Harvey Weinstein.
About Soapbox Films:
Established in 2003, Soapbox Films is a creative agency experienced in both original content and promotional projects...specializing in the area where the two intersect. The all-inclusive team at Soapbox features staff writers, producers, editors, graphic aritists and new media specialists who have produced long and short for content for the web, television, home entertainment and theatrical venues. Soapbox Films is also the home of the short format series "Disney Movie Surfers" on Disney Channel.
About The Webby Awards:
The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile web sites. Established in 1996, the 13th Annual Webby Awards received nearly 10,000 entries from all 50 states and over 60 countries worldwide. The Webby Awards is presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Sponsors and Partners of The Webby Awards include: Microsoft Silverlight; The Creative Group; .ORG; Getty Images; The Barbarian Group; Digital Kitchen; Wired; IDG; PricewaterhouseCoopers; 2advanced.Net; Kobemail and Museum of the Moving Image.
Contact: Nicole Cox 818-568-1288
nicolecox@soapboxfilms.com
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Hailed as the "Internet's highest honor" by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet.
"Ode to Joy" is the result of a creative collaboration between Soapbox Films and Disney's The Muppets Studio to produce original content exclusively for online video sharing sites. Strategically positioned as user-generated content created and uploaded by the Muppet characters themselves, the videos entertain worldwide on sites such as YouTube, MySpace and Vimeo, with a total view count of over 9.5 million to date.
Lovable lab assistant Beaker's take on Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is the breakout favorite. "Ode to Joy" raced to more than 2 million views in its first two weeks of release and currently boasts over 5 million views. The five-star rated clip ranks as YouTube's #33 Top Favorited Entertainment video of all time.
"Ode to Joy" and other videos from the campaign have been featured in such influential new media outlets as The Huffington Post, Gawker, /Film, Videogum and Wonkette, as well as traditional media heavyweights like Entertainment Weekly and The New York Times.
"Nominees like 'Ode to Joy' are setting the standard for innovation and creativity on the Internet," says David-Michel Davies, executive director of the Webby Awards. "It is an incredible achievement to be selected among the best from the nearly 10,000 entries we received this year."
"Working with the Muppets has been a lifelong-dream come true for us," says Soapbox Films president Christopher Alender, "and it was an honor to help catapult this ever-groundbreaking franchise into the 21st Century."
"The digital age is perfect for the Muppets," adds Soapbox Films creative director Andrew Williams, "YouTube is essentially the world's largest variety show, and there's no way Beaker, Fozzie, Gonzo, and the rest of the gang would miss out on it."
As a nominee, "Ode to Joy" is also eligible to win a Webby People's Voice Award, which is chosen online by the global web community. From now until April 30th, fans of "Ode to Joy" can cast their votes in The Webby People's Voice Awards at http://pv.webbyawards.com.
Winners will be announced on May 5th, 2009 and honored at a ceremony in New York City on June 8th hosted by comedian Seth Meyers. If selected, monosyllabic Beaker may get his chance to deliver one of the Webby's famous five-word speeches. Past Webby Award winners - and their speeches - include Al Gore ("Please don't recount this vote."), Beastie Boys ("Can anyone fix my computer?"), and Stephen Colbert ("Me. Me. Me. Me. Me.").
The Webby Awards is presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 650 person judging academy whose members include Internet co-inventor Vinton Cerf, R/GA's Chief Bob Greenberg, "Simpsons" creator Matt Groening, Arianna Huffington, and Harvey Weinstein.
About Soapbox Films:
Established in 2003, Soapbox Films is a creative agency experienced in both original content and promotional projects...specializing in the area where the two intersect. The all-inclusive team at Soapbox features staff writers, producers, editors, graphic aritists and new media specialists who have produced long and short for content for the web, television, home entertainment and theatrical venues. Soapbox Films is also the home of the short format series "Disney Movie Surfers" on Disney Channel.
About The Webby Awards:
The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile web sites. Established in 1996, the 13th Annual Webby Awards received nearly 10,000 entries from all 50 states and over 60 countries worldwide. The Webby Awards is presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Sponsors and Partners of The Webby Awards include: Microsoft Silverlight; The Creative Group; .ORG; Getty Images; The Barbarian Group; Digital Kitchen; Wired; IDG; PricewaterhouseCoopers; 2advanced.Net; Kobemail and Museum of the Moving Image.
Contact: Nicole Cox 818-568-1288
nicolecox@soapboxfilms.com
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Contact
Soapbox Films
Nicole Cox
818-568-1288
soapboxfilms.com
Nicole Cox
818-568-1288
soapboxfilms.com
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