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NBC and Avant Interactive Team to Introduce First-Of-Its-Kind Interactive Video Experience with ``Passions Vendetta'' Online CampaignLOS ANGELES --(Business Wire)-- March 27, 2006 -- NBC Engages Fans of Popular Daytime Show with 24 Video Promos; Showcasing Interactive, Clickable Video Avant Interactive joined forces with NBC's popular daytime drama "Passions" to create a first-of-its-kind interactive user experience for viewers of the show's online promotional campaign "Passions Vendetta" (www.PassionsVendetta.com). Avant's V-Click(TM) software allows for the production of interactive video programming that more deeply engages a viewer, for a more immersive experience. The new "Passions Vendetta" campaign includes online promos released in concert with the broadcast version of the show. The narrative unfolds over 24 different two-minute online videos appearing for 12 weeks. Fans will be able to click on different items in each video to receive more detailed information about the characters, show, special promotions and product information in addition to clues about the show's mystery plotline. During the campaign, five symbols hidden on PassionsVendetta.com can be clicked to unlock weekly treasures including bonus pictures, interviews and desktop wallpaper among other things. PassionsVendetta.com is the first NBC site to use clickable video technology. "Incorporating Avant's new clickable video enables us to deliver a true interactive experience, which combines TV content with web technology that allows viewers to interact with the video itself," said Stephen Andrade, vice president, NBC Interactive Development. "Our new campaign with Avant draws fans more deeply into content and provides them with the ability to be more intimately involved in the storyline." "Broadband has reached a point of critical mass and is now a viable way to access a large and growing audience," said Dan Bates, president of Avant Interactive. "Broadband video provides an opportunity to engage an audience in a new way and NBC is working with us to leverage Avant's technology and introduce an entirely new user experience to its viewers." Avant Interactive is an innovator of clickable video with its patented V-Click technology and interactive media content tools. The "Passions Vendetta" online promos premiered on NBC's site www.PassionsVendetta.com on March 14, 2006, with two new videos appearing on Tuesday and Thursday of each week. NBC is the first in a series of notable wins for Avant. About V-Click(TM) Avant offers a suite of software tools, V-Click(TM), that enable the creation of "clickable video." The technology has a wide variety of applications across a large number of delivery platforms including broadband, cable, satellite, PVR, IPTV, DVD, wireless devices and cell phones. The V-Click software makes it possible to automatically identify objects and tracks them within any video source. These tools enable content owners, web masters, knowledge management teams and subject matter experts to quickly and easily encode a video program with a high degree of interactivity, which provides a deeper and more compelling video experience for the viewer. Using V-Click tools, viewers can interact with full-motion videos when and how they choose, taking control of the interactive components. About Avant Interactive Avant Interactive is a privately held company focusing on interactive video software for the broadband, IPTV, streaming media and educational markets. Avant Interactive was formed in 2003 with the mission of improving the way video content is presented to viewers in a "connected" world. With offices in New York and Los Angeles, the firm offers a suite of tools that facilitate a deeper and more engaging video experience for viewers, while providing advertisers and content owners with new ways to deliver their material. Avant Interactive licenses its V-Click(TM) technology to content owners, advertisers, major broadcast networks, fortune 500 companies, educational institutions and more. About "Passions" Since the series debut on July 5, 1999, the Emmy(R) Award winning "Passions" quirky characters and traditional love stories have generated interest and critical acclaim from the daytime community. Based on the rich history and mystery of the harbor community of Harmony, "Passions" explores the lives, loves and losses of four core families: the Cranes, the Lopez-Fitzgeralds, the Bennetts and the Russells, each of whom have their own distinct and diverse challenges and desires. Celebrating its seventh anniversary, "Passions," is the creation of celebrated daytime drama scribe James E. Reilly, who is considered by many industry insiders to be one of the most innovative and prolific writers of his time. Reilly is also the head writer for "Days of our Lives." "Passions" is produced by NBC Studios in association Outpost Farms Productions, Inc. and is taped in Studio City, California. Lisa de Cazotte is the executive producer. |
