For Immediate Release
Photos available upon request or through photo wires including AP and Reuters
Contact: Jill Feldman,jill@mkpr.com
Patrick Kowalczyk, patrick@mkpr.com
Michael Kaminer Public Relations, 212.627.8098
PRINCE, WEBBY WINNERS PROVE LESS IS MORE
WITH FIVE-WORD SPEECHES AT THE 10TH ANNUAL WEBBY AWARDS
Lifetime Achievement Honoree Prince Wows Audience with
Pithy Speech and Electric Live Performance
New York, NY (June 13, 2006) – From Prince to Arianna Huffington, winners at last night’s 10th Annual Webby Awards proved once again that less is more with a non-stop parade of crowd-pleasing five-word acceptance speeches.
Prince was among dozens of winners in categories from Blog to Retail who took to the stage to deliver the much-anticipated, haiku-like speeches, which draw almost as much attention as the awards themselves. The music legend was greeted with a standing ovation when he was presented with the Webby Lifetime Achievement Award for his visionary use of the Internet to distribute music and connect with fans.
“Everything you think is true,” said Prince, as he broke into a show-stopping acoustic performance of “Don’t Play Me.”
Other speech highlights included:
“Darlings. Make blogs, not war.”
– Arianna Huffington, HuffingtonPost (Webby Award for Best Political Blog)
“Fun for the whole family.”
– Chris DeWolfe, co-founder, MySpace (Webby Breakout of the Year)
“The world really is flat.”
– Thomas Friedman, New York Times columnist and author (Webby Person of the Year)
“Make UNICEF obsolete. Help kids.”
– Anne Venneman, UNICEF executive director and former US Secretary of Agriculture (Webby People’s Voice for Best Charitable Organization)
“Babycenter. You push, we deliver.”
– BabyCenter (Webby People’s Voice for Best Family/Parenting)
“Sports? Pornography? Sports? Pornography? Sports!”
– ESPN.com (Webby Award for Best Sports Site)
“More than just bare breasts”
– NationalGeographic.com’s Genographic Project (Webby Award for Best Science)
“We are eating this up.”
– Epicurious.com (Webby Award for Best Food)
“Not bad for posting kittens.”
– CuteOverload.com (Webby People’s Voice for Best Cultural Blog)
“The future’s only just begun.”
– Gorillaz (Webby Artist of the Year)
“Chipotle can kiss my ass.”
– TijuanaFlats.com by PUSH/Mindflood (Webby People’s Voce for Best Restaurant)
“I proposed, Elizabeth said ‘yes.'”
– Dave Garr, DaveLovesElizabeth.com (Webby People’s Voice for Best Personal Web Site)
“I know all your secrets.”
– PostSecrets.org (Webby Award for Best NetArt)
“Please obey all speed limits.”
– Mercedes-AMG by Razorfish / Avenue A (Webby Award for Best Automotive)
A list of all speeches can be found at: http://www.webbyawards.com/press/speeches.php
Proclaimed “the online equivalent of an OSCAR®” by the New York Times (June 21, 2005), The Webby Awards is the leading international honor for Web sites and the innovators behind them.
Winners of The Webby Awards are chosen by the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences, a global organization with over 500 members including musician David Bowie, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, The Body Shop president Anita Roddick, “Simpsons” creator Matt Groening, Naked Chef Jamie Oliver, and fashion designer Max Azria.
Winners of The Webby People’s Voice Awards are chosen by the public. This year, more than 300,000 votes were cast by people around the world.
Title Sponsors for The 10th Annual Webby Awards are:
- AOL LLC, a leading network of Web brands including the new AOL.com®, AOL’s next generation broadband Web portal, which offers an extensive array of content and features available for free.
Web users can access industry leading communication products; the best programming from news, sports and personal finance to music, movies, television and games; as well as an innovative video media
experience, all from one place. - The Creative Group, a division of Robert Half International, the premier staffing company for creative professionals.
About The Webby Awards:
Founded in 1996, The Webby Awards is the leading international honors for Web sites. The Webby Awards is presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 535-member judging organization consisting of leading experts in a diverse range of fields. Sponsors and Partners of The Webby Awards include: AOL.com, The Creative Group; Verizon; Adweek Magazines; Fortune and FSB; OnRequest Images, IDG; PricewaterhouseCoopers; iStockphoto, American Marketing Association; 2Advanced Studios, 2 Advanced.net; MX Interactive. For more information visit
www.webbyawards.com.
About the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS):
The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences is dedicated to the creative, technical, and professional progress of the internet and interactive media. The Academy is an intellectually diverse organization that includes over 500 members consisting of leading experts in a diverse range of fields, such as musician David Bowie, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, business guru and author Tom Peters, The Body Shop president Anita Roddick, fashion designer Max Azria, Simpsons creator Matt Groening and Real Networks CEO Rob Glaser. The Webby Awards and The International Academy of DigFor more information, visit www.iadas.net.
OSCAR® is a federally registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Webby Awards and the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences are in no way affiliated with or sponsored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences or OSCAR®.
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