From Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Miso: Despicable Me

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., Nov. 24, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Social TV app Miso will be partnering with Universal Studios Home Entertainment to create a unique viewer experience to promote the highly anticipated December 14th Blu-ray™ and DVD release of the animated comedy blockbuster Despicable Me during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade airing on November 25. Through Miso's second screen experience (on iPhone, iPad, Android, and Web), fans watching the parade on TV can engage with the television event, earn rewards, and share their actions with friends.  The new app is the latest component of Universal's "Minion Madness," a promotional rewards program in which fans can earn points interactively by collecting Minions, the endearingly mischievous characters popularized in Despicable Me. The Minions along with teen sensation Miranda Cosgrove, the voice of Margo in the film, will be featured on a float in the parade.

Viewers who use Miso to "check-in" to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade can unlock an exclusive Minion Madness badge and earn Minion points redeemable for coupons or prizes as part of the "Minion Madness" campaign (http://www.minionmadness.com). "Minion Madness" enables fans to participate in up to 25 sweepstakes entries each day through a variety of online and offline activities. While watching the parade, Miso users will also have the opportunity to interact with other fans on the Miso platform and share the excitement with friends by broadcasting messages to their social networks.

Don Buckley, Partner at THA.i, lead agency on Minion Madness, commented, "We brought Miso on board to help complete the true integration of the campaign. Fans of Despicable Me, no matter where they live, can make their Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade experience a part of Minion Madness."

"We're thrilled to be working with THA.i and Universal Studios Home Entertainment on the Despicable Me release," said Somrat Niyogi, Chief Executive Officer, Miso. "Our users love to engage around live events and we know that Miso will be a great tool to boost the excitement around the Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Minion Madness campaign."

Despicable Me Synopsis:

Get ready for a minion laughs in the funniest blockbuster hit of the year!  Vying for the title of "World's Greatest Villain," Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) – along with his hilarious crew of mischievous Minions – plots to pull off the craziest crime of the century: steal the moon!  But when Gru enlists the help of three little girls, they see something in him nobody else has ever seen: the perfect dad.  From executive producer Chris Meledandri (Horton Hears a Who!, Ice Age), and featuring the voices of an all-star comedic cast, including Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Miranda Cosgrove and Julie Andrews, Despicable Me is "rousingly funny, heartfelt and imaginative" (Pete Hammond, Boxoffice Magazine).

About Miso

Miso is building an interactive platform that makes watching TV more social and more fun. With Miso, users can easily share what they are watching with their friends, post to social networks, and connect with fans around the shows they love. For "checking in," users can collect points and unlock virtual badges.

Miso has applications for the iPhone, iPad, Android, and the web. The company is seed-funded by Google Ventures and based in San Francisco, CA. Learn more at http://gomiso.com or follow @gomiso on Twitter.

About THA.i

THA.i is the integrated digital marketing division of Terry Hines & Associates.  It specializes in integrated marketing campaigns across the spectrum of social, mobile, destination sites, media strategy and placement, video syndication, creative ad development and online outreach tied to their hyper local strengths in regional markets nationally.

About Universal Studios Home Entertainment

Universal Studios Home Entertainment is a unit of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios (www.universalstudios.com). Universal Studios is a part of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80%-owned by General Electric, with 20% owned by Vivendi.

SOURCE Universal Studios Home Entertainment