FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEW "HERO" CHOSEN BY FANS IN ‘CREATE YOUR HERO’ CAMPAIGN – NEW MICRO-SERIES ‘HEROES: DESTINY’ PREMIERES TONIGHT ON NBC.COM, HULU AND SPRINT WIRELESS PHONES
Fans Select ‘Santiago’ as the #1 Fan Favorite to Star in Mobile/Online Series; Robert Urbina Set for the Role of ‘Santiago’ and Lina Esco, Andrea Thompson also Star
BURBANK, Calif. – November 10, 2008 – After more than one million votes were cast, today NBC and Sprint announced the winning hero in the "Create Your Hero" campaign. The winning character will star in the new online live action micro-series, HEROES: DESTINY. The first of four episodes will premiere tonight exclusively on online at NBC.com and on Sprint phones, one episode to be released every Monday at 9pm et/pt starting November 10.
Also announced today was the casting of Columbian-born actor, Roberto Urbina, to bring the character to life. Urbina stars in a story created by the show's award-winning writers and produced in collaboration with the series creators.
Lina Esco ("Cane") and Andrea Thompson ("24") will also star in the innovative micro- series, being filmed on location in Los Angeles. Based on the Aspen Comics' online illustrations which brought Santiago to life on NBC.com, the micro-series will be directed by Eagle Egilsson ("CSI: Miami," "The Wire").
“For the first time ever, Sprint and NBC gave Heroes fans a hand in the creative process,” said Bill Morgan, Senior Vice President, Corporate Marketing, Sprint. “And with the ability to vote and ultimately watch the new micro-series exclusively on mobile with their Sprint phones, we are demonstrating even more ways that our technology allows people to interact and be entertained.”
“Create Your Hero” began last season with fans selecting the characteristics of the new hero, including gender, name, special powers, personality and physical features. Each week fans voted on a different trait, which gradually evolved into two final character candidates: “Audrey” and “Santiago.” The winning hero, Santiago, 23, is an only child and lives with his mother in Lima, Peru. He works as an auto mechanic and hopes to go out in the world one day and accomplish something that makes his mother proud.
“We developed this campaign directly with Mindshare Entertainment as not only a great way to engage the fans with their favorite show,” said Barbara Blangiardi, Senior Vice President, Creative Partnerships and Innovation, NBC Universal, "but as an innovative project that connected Sprint's marketing objectives seamlessly with our content, enhancing the overall viewing experience.”
The four-episode micro-series premieres tonight on NBC.com, Hulu, and Sprint wireless phones with sneak previews running each week during Heroes on NBC. The concept for the "Create Your Hero" project was developed in conjunction with "Heroes" creator Tim Kring. The production is a partnership between Mindshare Entertainment and NBC Universal Creative Partnerships & Innovation. To see HEROES: DESTINY the series, please log on to http://www.nbc.com/heroesdestiny.
About NBC.com NBC.com, the Emmy Award-winning broadcast network website, is a leading online and mobile destination for television and interactive entertainment. With both derivative and web-exclusive programming, NBC.com pioneered the "360" experience with "Heroes 360," which gave viewers a way to extend their entertainment experience beyond the broadcast, and the first weekly social networking experience attached to a primetime entertainment program with "Dunder Mifflin Infinity." The site offers full episode streaming of many NBC Entertainment shows as well as short clips, interactive games and social networking, including user-generated content. NBC.com continually develops new ways for consumers to experience entertainment content on both existing and emerging platforms. The site is the recipient of multiple Emmy and Webby awards for its content and applications. Please log on to www.nbc.com to learn more.
About Sprint Nextel Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including two wireless networks serving nearly 52 million customers at the end of the second quarter 2008; industry-leading mobile data services; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. For more information, visit www.sprint.com.
About Mindshare Mindshare is a global marketing and media services network with billings in excess of $23 billion (source: RECMA). The network consists of 97 offices in 67 countries throughout the USA, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, and Asia Pacific; each dedicated to forging competitive marketing advantage for businesses and their brands. Mindshare is a member of WPP, the world’s leading communications service group with $63.5bn in billings (source: RECMA). For more information, please visit www.mindshareworld.com.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Aaron Radelet, Sprint – 703-433-8246
Liz Fischer, NBC Universal – 212-664-4825
Joe Libonati, NBC Universal – 212-413-5890
John Wolfe, Mindshare – 212-297-7160