From a media release:
SHAFTESBURY & FAMILY CHANNEL STRIKE GOLD AT THE 2010 PromaxBDA AWARDS WITH INTERACTIVE AWARD WIN FOR OVERRULED!: YOU RULE
Shaftesbury, Canada’s leading creator and producer of original content for television and multiple platforms, today announced that the original interactive kids’ video activity Overruled!: You Rule, available through Family.ca, took home a Gold Award for Best Interactive: DVD, Interactive TV, Mobile, Emerging Platforms at the 2010 PromaxBDA Promotion & Marketing North America awards in Los Angeles last week. The unique activity was conceptualized and produced by Shaftesbury’s digital media division, Smokebomb Entertainment and Family Channel’s interactive team.
Overruled! You Rule was developed as an interactive, online extension of Overruled!, a half-hour comedy television series for kids produced by Shaftesbury for Family Channel. Inspired by real-life high school courts, the series focuses on the fictional trials and tribulations of a group of friends that manage a student court at their high school. Incorporating original video written and produced by Smokebomb Entertainment, the activity allowed fans of the show to help characters from the series settle their own disputes, using a combination of video clips, voting and commenting to create a virtual court. A new original online episode starring the characters from the series was released each week over a seven-week period, creating a dynamic 360-degree experience for viewers by asking them to watch both sides of an argument and then play the rule of judge by voting on who should win and why.
Launched shortly after the premiere of Season Two of the television series, the Overruled!: You Rule activity generated over 300,000 unique visits and one million video views from November 12, 2009 until January 4, 2010.The series on Family Channel also enjoyed a notable gain in viewership across the same time period.. The unique activity sparked community discussion, resulting in thousands of posts and comments on Family Channel’s FamClub online discussion board.
Funded by Family Channel, the Canadian Media Fund and the Bell New Media Fund, Overruled! You Rule is available at http://www.family.ca/whatson/minisites/pages/yourule/.
Produced by Shaftesbury in association with Family Channel, Overruled! was created by Jeff Biederman, Jeff F. King and Jeffrey Alan Schechter. It is executive produced by Christina Jennings and Scott Garvie for Shaftesbury Films, Jeff Biederman (Life with Derek) and Jeffrey Alan Schechter (The Famous Jett Jackson), and produced by Suzanne French for Shaftesbury Films. Shaftesbury Sales Company holds U.S. and international rights.
Overruled! is also broadcast on Disney Channel in the UK, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany, India, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand; Canal+ in Poland; Boomerang in the UK and Latin America; Noga in Israel and e-junior in the UAE.
The PromaxBDA awards recognize creative professionals working in television, radio and digital media worldwide. With a combined membership of over 3,000 companies and individuals drawn from more than 70 countries, PromaxBDA is a truly international organization uniting the individuals who will pioneer tomorrow’s electronic and broadcast media.
