BRANDISSIMO! ANNOUNCES 3RD ANNUAL CINCO DE MAYHEM CELEBRATION AT URBANIACS.COM



Virtual Events Kick Off May 5th with Super Villain GoatFist’s

Annual Punking of Fans and Launch of Urbowars Contest



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:



ENCINO, Calif. – (May 4, 2009) – Celebrating the fourth anniversary of the launch of Urbaniacs – a comic book world come to virtual life – Brandissimo! announces the third annual Cinco de Mayhem celebration at Urbaniacs.com.



Cinco de Mayhem begins May 5, 2009 when site-wide super-villain GoatFist takes over all of Urbaniacs.com in what has become the staff's annual practical joke on the citizens of Urbanville. In the past, the users have logged in to find all forum posts replaced with "GoatFist Rules!," their in-site community bank has been robbed, and their user pages have been replaced with a graffiti of "You've Been Goated!"



“It’s our yearly punking of the fans of Urbaniacs,” said Josh Fisher, founder of the award-winning virtual world, who is also known as Mayor Da!Man. “We use this event as a fun way to launch our biggest new feature of the year.”



This year, Cinco de Mayhem launches the all-new Urbowars, an ongoing, month-long contest that unites all of the elements of Urbaniacs. From playing games to training characters and multiplayer battles to villainous assaults, Urbowars tracks everything an Urbaniacs player experiences and turns it into a fun contest where one team wins every month. At the end of each month, an entire class of Urbaniacs characters (Hero, Villain, Vigilante, Beatnik or Nomad) will be declared the Urbowars winner and every user who is part of the class will be awarded in-game prizes.



“Urbowars is a fun way to add a sense of competition to the social elements of the site and reward our players at the same time. It’s also a way for individual users to engage each other, play in character, and get into the spirit of our game world. There’s friendly competition between users, a little trash talking and plenty of crowing by the winning disposition,” said Fisher. “Just keep an eye out for GoatFist or you might be his next Cinco de Mayhem victim!”



ABOUT URBANIACS

Urbaniacs is a comic book world come to virtual life. Transform your online self into your own funk-infused super-avatar known as an “Urbanic.” Meet new “Homeys” or challenge your “Arch enemies” in a multiplayer battle. Each Urbaniac can be customized in thousands of ways. While the characters and styles are immediately attractive to younger audiences, the depth, clever games, and irreverent sensibility appeal to the teens and adults who play. There is a wide range of humorous and entertaining interactions for anyone looking for an adventure. Direct your Urbaniac to “The Streets” to chat with friends and show off funky super powers, or cruise to the “Arena” to take out some aggressions with a hilarious round of “Wedgie Toss.” Join a local challenge to become a “Boombox” master, or spend some time earning “Urbos” (Urbanville’s currency) while playing “Beat Bot Boogie.” There are many compelling social community features built into the comic gameplay of the world. Once you’ve earned some Urbos, you can head down to the “Pimp Out Depot” to trade them in for some fresh new gear and gadgets to equip on your Urbaniac. But be careful! At any moment, you could be faced with a challenge, assault, or battle by another Urbaniac or one of the in-game characters. Scared? Don’t be. Just invite some Homeys along and you and your crew could take over the city in no time.



The group elements make the site come to life. Try your best to out-rap Urbanville’s Mayor Da Man in the “Freestyle” rap forum or check out the “Newbie” posts to get some insider tips about how to play the more challenging games. Better yet, create your own forum and see how the Urbaniacs community responds. Urbaniacs is an evolving virtual world created to inspire the imagination and provide hours of funk funny, funky entertainment and adventure to all who participate.



For more information please visit Urbaniacs.com.



ABOUT BRANDISSIMO!

Brandissimo! is quickly emerging as an industry leader in the creation of casual gaming and online experiences for kids. Boasting a management team of partners who have deep entertainment industry experience, Brandissimo! is a developer, creator and producer of award-winning content for kids and teens across all platforms. Brandissimo! helps broadcasters and brand owners access young audiences by rethinking brands from an online perspective and building relationships with kids through game play that ignites young imaginations, swells their minds and inspires creativity, self expression and esteem. Brandissimo! produces NFLRUSH.com and created the fast growing NFLRUSH Zone, a massive 32-team multiplayer game world for the National Football League. In addition to digital production, Brandissimo! executive produced the international hit TV franchise Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs, created and produced the Emmy®-nominated Discovery Kids franchise Bigfoot Presents: Meteor and the Mighty Monster Trucks, and produces the multi-award winning musical series, Spectrum Connections' Bounce!, for PBS Sprout.