New Wallpapers, Ring Tones, and Advanced Content for Verizon Wireless Get It
Now(R) Customers
LOS ANGELES and BEDMINSTER, N.J., Sept. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- AG Interactive,
the new media subsidiary of American Greetings Corporation (NYSE: AM) today
announced an exclusive partnership with Funkmaster Flex to bring hottest new
mobile content from his Celebrity Car and Bike Tour and his ESPN TV show, Ride
with Funkmaster Flex through Def Jam Mobile (http://www.defjammobile.com) to Verizon
Wireless's Get It Now's customers. Funkmaster Flex is Hip Hop's top radio
personality and premier car culture evangelist. Flex's tour and show combine
the best of celebrity and car cultures, having hooked up rides for 50 Cent,
Ludacris, Tracy McGrady, P.Diddy, Lil' Kim, Ashanti and Queen Latifah.
Verizon Wireless customers with select Get It Now-enabled phones can show
off their love for cars, celebrities and Hip Hop music by loading their phones
with cool new mobile content from Funkmaster Flex, including:
* Ring tones - a wide variety of audio, from racing car engine SFXs and
car lifestyle skits to Flex voice tones and shout outs
* Wallpapers - images of custom cars from Funkmaster Flex's car tour,
celebrity cars and Hip Hop beauties from the King Model search
"I love to bring people together who love the art of cars," said
Funkmaster Flex. "Making our content available on mobile phones lets people
carry their love of cars beyond our tour and our show. They can now take
their passion for their rides with them wherever they go."
As part of the Funkmaster Flex Car & Bike Show, Verizon Wireless' street
team made the rounds in a tricked-out H2 Hummer showcasing Def Jam Mobile's
applications and content on several fully loaded Verizon Wireless phones in
the Hummer. AG Interactive's mobile studio group created custom video content
from the tour which played on screens in the Hummer. Additionally, AG
Interactive raffled away Def Jam Mobile T-shirts and concert tickets to tour
attendees.
"Funkmaster Flex is a world-renowned Hip Hop legend, and bringing the many
assets of his tour and his show onto the Def Jam Mobile platform fits
perfectly into our strategy to make all the best Hip Hop content available in
one place," said Bryan Biniak, senior vice president, AG Interactive and
general manager, AGmobile. "At AGmobile, we create and license the world's
best content for distribution across wireless platforms. This deal with
Funkmaster Flex is a great example of what we're bringing to the mobile
market."
"Our Verizon Wireless street teams are getting a great response to the Def
Jam Mobile content they demonstrated in the Hummer and we're pleased to offer
it through our Get It Now service," said Bill Stone, vice president of
marketing for Verizon Wireless. "The premium content developed by AG
Interactive for Def Jam Mobile is compelling and keeps Hip Hop fans coming
back for more."
Funkmaster Flex's ring tones and wallpapers are available immediately on
select Get It Now-enabled phones. Customers can find Funkmaster Flex's ring
tones on the Def Jam Beatz application in the getTONES shopping aisle for
$1.99 for one ring tone purchase, $5.99 for five ring tone purchase or $9.99
for eight tone purchase. Flex's wallpapers are available on Def Jam Snipes in
the getWALLPAPER shopping aisle for $1.99 for one use purchase, $4.49 for
three use purchase or $6.49 for five use purchase.
Download charges for Get It Now applications vary and airtime charges
apply when browsing, downloading and using certain applications. Customers
need a Get It Now-enabled handset and Verizon Wireless digital service to
access the Get It Now virtual store.
For more information about Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a
Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to
http://www.verizonwireless.com.
About Funkmaster Flex
Funkmaster Flex is Hip Hop's premiere radio personality and one of the
genre's most influential figures. He is the number one DJ in the country's
number one market and can also be heard in syndication across the country and
overseas. Flex's success extends into the television world, with his hit TV
show, Ride with Funkmaster Flex. Debuting in August 2003, the show is a
one-of-a-kind half hour series that combines the best of celebrity and car
cultures. Everyone from Eminem to Blink 182 took part in the first season -
giving Flex access to their prized rides and taking part such activities as
drag racing, burnouts and demolition derbies! Celebrity car customizations are
a huge part of the show's success, and Flex's Team Baurtwell hooked up rides
for 50 Cent, Ludacris, Queen Latifah and more.
Funkmaster Flex is a custom car fanatic -so much so, The New York Times
recently dubbed him the "evangelist" of Hip Hop's car culture. He founded
Team Baurtwell, the highest profile custom-car club around with members like
Shaquille O'Neil, and musicians Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliot and Faith Evans.
He writes an authoritative automotive column for two of Hip Hop's most read
publications-The Source and Mobile Entertainment Magazine. Flex is the
consultant to the hottest car accessory companies, advising them on a host of
issues, especially product placement and future advertising. This knowledge
has led to numerous endorsement deals from some of the biggest companies in
the game. Visit http://www.funkmasterflex.com for more information.
About Def Jam Enterprises
Def Jam Enterprises, a subsidiary of Rush Communications' fashion and
entertainment empire, offers consumers a wide range of popular products and
services in a variety of industries including fashion, film, gaming, and
mobile. By leveraging the power of the Def Jam brand, Def Jam Enterprises has
co-produced two highly successful video games with Electronic Arts: Def Jam
Vendetta and Def Jam Fight For NY. Since its launch last year, Def Jam
University has already established itself as a premier urban fashion brand.
Def Jam Mobile, in partnership with AG Interactive, is the premier provider of
Hip Hop content for wireless consumers. Def Jam Enterprises will continue to
expand into new arenas by staying true to the logo.
About AG Interactive
AG Interactive is a worldwide leader in online, instant messaging and
mobile expressions and entertainment. The online group, AG.com, offers over
20,000 premium quality greetings and other types of expressive content through
its popular websites including AmericanGreetings.com, BlueMountain.com,
BlueMountainCards.co.uk, and egreetings.com, as well as co-branded greetings
sites with leading portals Yahoo!, AOL and MSN. Collectively, the AG
Interactive online sites represent the largest online greeting card
destination in the world, attracting over two million paying subscribers and
millions of unique visitors every month.
The mobile services group, AGmobile, is a leader in mobile content
creation, distribution and marketing. It offers consumers a broad set of
wireless and multi-media expressions and entertainment including ringtones,
graphics, video and games. Through its mobile properties, including Def Jam
Mobile, MIDIRingtones, Blue Mountain Mobile and Kiwee, AGmobile creates and
distributes innovative content to mobile phone users through 25 wireless
carriers in over ten countries and in multiple languages. By leveraging the
world's largest digital library of award-winning expressive content and
premium licensed content along with an unrivaled international distribution
capability, AG Interactive offers consumers and business partners the premiere
online and mobile services available today. AG Interactive is a subsidiary of
American Greetings Corporation (NYSE: AM), one of the world's leading
manufacturers of social expression products, generating annual net sales of
approximately $2 billion.
About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless owns and operates the nation's most reliable wireless
network, serving 47.4 million voice and data customers. Headquartered in
Bedminster, NJ, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications
(NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). Find more information on the Web
at http://www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video
footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to
the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at http://www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.
About Get It Now
Get It Now from Verizon Wireless puts a virtual software store inside a
wireless phone and lets customers download applications over the air and
purchase them directly from their phones. Virtual shopping aisles, including
getGAMES, getTONES, getGOING, getPIX, getFUN and getMESSAGING, are organized
to help customers find what they want, when they want it.
SOURCE AG Interactive
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Related links:
http://www.ag.com
http://www.verizonwireless.com
http://www.funkmasterflex.com http://www.defjammobile.com
CONTACT:
Media Contacts: Pamela Preston,
+1-212-590-2554 (o), +1-917-575-5830 (m),
ppreston@breakawaycom.com, or Alicia Mickelsen, +1-212-590-2557
(o), +1-973-229-9972 (m), amick@breakawaycom.com, both of
Breakaway Communications for AG Interactive; or Jeffrey Nelson of
Verizon Wireless, +1-908-306-4824,
Jeffrey.Nelson@verizonwireless.com
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