Funny Or Die Presents The Oddball Comedy And Curiosity Festival Announces Brand Partnerships With DIALS, REDD's Apple Ale, Southern Comfort, 3 Musketeers, HP, FX, Lyft, truth And Fandango

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Aug 27, 2015, 07:05 ET

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Funny Or Die Presents The Oddball Comedy and Curiosity Festival announced today that they have partnered with nine leading brands to present the world's biggest comedy tour. The brand partners named today include a returning brand — REDD's Apple Ale — as well as eight brands new to the tour: DIALS, Southern Comfort, 3 Musketeers, HP, FX, Lyft, truth® and Fandango. The 18-city Oddball Comedy Festival, which is too big to be contained by four walls, kicks off under the stars on Aug. 28 at the Starlight Theater in Kansas City, Missouri and wraps up at the Gexa Energy Pavilion in Dallas, Texas on Oct. 18.

Also new this year to Oddball is Funny Or Die's 'Oddball News Team' who will be cruising in a nostalgic 1978 van capturing exclusive coverage of the festival at various dates. From travel log videos on the road, to interviews with the comedians, to man-on-the-street reporting, Funny Or Die's Oddball News Team will be on site asking the hard-hitting questions that people care about. In addition, select Oddball fans who post pictures to Instagram with the hashtag #oddballnewsvan have a chance to win ticket upgrades. Content from the Oddball News Team will be featured on www.funnyordie.com/oddball.

The official 2015 mobile app for the Oddball Comedy Festival will be powered by DIALS, a new Los Angeles-based tech startup that recently launched its own new mobile scheduling app, DIALS®. DIALS has rethought the mobile calendar and transformed the old, hard-to-read "list view" of your schedule into an elegantly designed new "clock-based" view of your day.

The Oddball mobile app will feature the tour schedule, a first look at the final lineups and set times for each city, and offer special exclusive discounts and seating upgrade opportunities to those Oddball fans utilizing the app.

"We are excited to have our tour schedule app powered by DIALS. If comedians are the disruptive 'square pegs in round holes', then DIALS is the disruptive 'round peg in a square hole' when it comes to calendaring. We look forward to having them power more of our festival schedules," said John Reese, Oddball's producer. "We are so happy to be partnered up with Oddball, considering we ARE the oddball of the calendaring world," said Dials co-founder and CEO Thomas Scriven.

The free Oddball app becomes available on iOS at the Apple App Store, and for Android at Google Play, on Aug. 27.

Oddball is excited to welcome back REDD's® Apple Ale for a third straight year with the REDD's Apple Ale Festival Stage. The REDD's Apple Ale Festival Stage will feature Big Jay Oakerson as the host of the stage, where he will introduce local talent from each market.

"REDD's is excited to partner with Oddball again, it's been an incredible ride and the tour just keeps getting better," says Anup Shah, marketing director, REDD's Apple Ale. "We can't wait to see the REDD's Festival Stage hosted by Big Jay Oakerson treat our fans to the best local comedy there is. REDD's is about Picking Different, and REDD's is helping give people a way to enjoy comedy in a different way." REDD's will bring its crisp apple ale taste to Oddball, with giveaways and other surprises.

Joining forces for the first time, Southern Comfort (SoCo) and the Oddball Festival invite you to laugh out loud all tour long with a "ShottaSoCo." "At Southern Comfort, we don't take ourselves too seriously. We're comfortable being Southern Comfort," says Jennifer Powell, brand director, Southern Comfort. "We couldn't think of a better way to bring our 'Whatever's Comfortable' attitude to life than to partner with an event that doesn't take themselves too seriously either."

Like the Oddball comedians, Southern Comfort proudly celebrates self-comfortableness and the right to be yourself. During the tour, not only will SoCo be showcasing the recently redesigned contemporary packaging bottle, but will also be offering consumers an opportunity to win free tickets to events as well as hosting on-site activations to win prizes and, of course, to sample the tour's exclusive cocktail — the SoCo Punchline.

Another new addition to the Oddball family, HP, will be hosting The Sprout Experience Tour to show attendees the world's first fully-integrated desktop 3D scanning solution. Sprout specialists will demonstrate how anyone can grab an object from the physical world, manipulate it in the digital world and bring it back to life. It's simple. It's fun. It's revolutionary.

FX is joining the Oddball Comedy Festival this year in celebration of Denis Leary's hit new comedy Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll. Airing on FX on Thursdays at 10 p.m. e/p, Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll stars Leary as "Johnny Rock," the lead singer of a legendary early '90s New York band called The Heathens who broke up on the brink of stardom. 25 years later, Johnny's getting the band back together, only now it's led by a massively talented young singer named "Gigi" (Elizabeth Gillies) who also happens to be the daughter Johnny never knew he had. Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll also stars John Corbett, John Ales, Robert Kelly and Elaine Hendrix.

Lyft has come on board as the official rideshare partner for the Oddball Comedy Tour. Lyft is an app for welcoming, affordable rides within minutes, allowing you to "request and go." Use the code ODDBALL and your first Lyft ride, up to $20, is free in the following markets: West Palm Beach, Atlanta, Chula Vista, San Francisco, Irvine, Austin and Dallas.

You may have heard of the "rule of three" in comedy, but did you know that Musketeers follow it, too? That's why 3 MUSKETEERS® Chocolate Bar is pleased to announce its sponsorship of Funny or Die's Oddball Comedy and Curiosity Festival. At every stop on the tour, consumers will be invited to stop by the 3 MUSKETEERS® tent for free samples, to interact with 3 MUSKETEERS® socially through a fun Musketeer-themed photo-op, and to find out why 3 MUSKETEERS® is the perfect combination of chocolate, fluffy and musketeer!

truth joins Oddball for the first time as well. "Leveraging creativity is one of the key ways that this generation can end tobacco for good and the Oddball Comedy and Curiosity Festival is one way for us to share that message with a broad audience," said Eric Asche, chief marketing officer of the public health organization that directs truth and has recently introduced plans to be called Truth Initiative. "At this festival we're able to arm teens with the facts, inspire them to rally together, and provide them with tools they can use to bring the teen smoking rate from 8% to zero — together we can #FinishIt for good."

Fandango, the nation's top digital destination for moviegoers and fans, is joining the third installment of Oddball Comedy Festival. As part of the partnership, select attendees will receive front row seat upgrades, courtesy of Fandango VIP.

About Funny Or Die
Funny Or Die launched in April 2007 and has grown into a premier comedy brand and production studio known for creating award-winning, high-quality content with a global audience of more than 70 million. Funny Or Die's social media division produces content for over 15 platforms and is the #1 comedy brand on both Twitter and Facebook. Funny Or Die is the top destination for celebrity-driven comedy videos and highly topical political commentary. Funny Or Die's founders are Gary Sanchez Productions (Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, and Chris Henchy), and Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Judd Apatow is also a principal partner.

About DIALS
DayDials, Inc. (d/b/a DIALS) is an LA-based tech startup company founded in 2013 by longtime entertainment executive Thomas Scriven (CEO) and celebrated Reddit artist Dante Orpilla (CCO/Defender of User Experience).

The non-Oddball calendaring app, DIALS®, is currently available as a public beta for iOS users in the Apple App store. www.DialsApp.com. With its at-a-glance visualization of your upcoming events, and its simplified entry and edit process for all your important meetings, calls and tasks, plus in-app chat with other meeting attendees, DIALS® is the easiest and best on-the-go way to manage your time.

About MillerCoors
Through its diverse collection of storied breweries, MillerCoors brings American beer drinkers an unmatched selection of the highest quality beers steeped in centuries of brewing heritage. Miller Brewing Company and Coors Brewing Company offer domestic favorites such as Coors Light, Miller Lite, Miller High Life and Coors Banquet. Tenth and Blake Beer Company, our craft and import division, offers beers such as Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy from sixth-generation Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company and Blue Moon Belgian White from modern craft pioneer Blue Moon Brewing Company, which celebrates its 20th Anniversary this year. Tenth and Blake also operates Crispin Cider Company, an artisanal maker of pear and apple ciders using fresh-pressed American juice, and imports world-renowned beers such as Italy's Peroni Nastro Azzurro, the Czech Republic's Pilsner Urquell and the Netherlands' Grolsch. MillerCoors also offers pioneering new brands such as the Redd's Apple and Redd's Wicked Apple franchises and Smith & Forge Hard Cider. MillerCoors seeks to become America's best beer company through an uncompromising promise of quality, a keen focus on innovation and a deep commitment to sustainability. MillerCoors is a joint venture of SABMiller plc and Molson Coors Brewing Company. Learn more at MillerCoors.com, at facebook.com/MillerCoors or on Twitter through @MillerCoors.

For more information about Redd's, visit www.ReddsAppleAle.com or the social media pages at www.Facebook.com/ReddsAppleAle and www.Twitter.com/ReddsAppleAle.

About Southern Comfort
Southern Comfort®, a fruit, spice, and whiskey flavored liqueur, was created in New Orleans by bartender M.W. Heron in 1874. Today, it is enjoyed by friends in over 100 countries around the world and continues to grow as an icon brand. Please visit us at SouthernComfort.com and facebook.com/southerncomfort.

About FX
FX and FXX are home to some of the funniest shows on television, including It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Louie and Archer. Married follows Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll on FX on Thursdays at 10:30 p.m. e/p. The final season of The League and second season of You're the Worst premiere on FXX on September 9^th. And next year look for the new FX comedies Baskets, starring Zach Galifianakis, and Better Things, starring Pamela Adlon, while Cassius and Clay, a new animated comedy from the creators of Archer, is heading to FXX.

About Live Nation Entertainment
Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV) is the world's leading live entertainment company comprised of global market leaders: Ticketmaster, Live Nation Concerts, Live Nation Media & Sponsorship and Artist Nation Management. For additional information, visit www.livenationentertainment.com.

About truth
truth is the most successful and longest running national youth smoking prevention campaigns. The campaign exposes the tactics of the tobacco industry, the truth about addiction, and the health effects and social consequences of smoking. truth gives teens facts to make their own informed choices about tobacco use and inspires them to use their social influence and creativity in the fight against tobacco. The campaign is credited with preventing hundreds of thousands of teens from starting to smoke, and is working to make this the generation that ends smoking for good. To learn more, visit thetruth.com. truth is part of a national public health organization dedicated to achieving a culture where all youth and young adults reject tobacco. In September the organization will officially change its name to Truth Initiative. To learn more about their work speaking, seeking and spreading the truth about tobacco, visit truthinitiative.org.

SOURCE Live Nation Entertainment