Rock the Vote and Brilliant Digital Turn Heads on the Internet in the Fight Against Hate Crimes

Business Wire, Oct 2, 2001

Business Editors

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 2, 2001

Brilliant Digital's b3d Technology Enables Music Superstars to Lend Their Heads to Educate & Empower Youth in Rock the Vote's First Viral Internet Campaign Addressing Hate in America and Recent Terrorist Acts

Rock the Vote, an organization founded by leaders in the recording industry and dedicated to protecting freedom of expression and empowering young people to change the world, and Brilliant Digital Entertainment, Inc. (AMEX:BDE), a leading developer of 3D technologies for rich media content creation, distribution and ad serving for the Internet, announced today the launch of a groundbreaking viral advertising campaign to educate youth on hate crimes in America.

The campaign, in the planning for six months, will also address the wave of terrorism that has hit America in recent weeks. Brilliant Digital created this viral campaign using their proprietary b3d technology that brings true-to-life 3D celebrity faces to the Internet to educate and empower teens on the fight against hate crimes (www.brilliantdigital.com/rtv/sisqo). Already committed to this campaign are some of the biggest names in music, ranging from platinum recording artist Sisqo to superstars such as Moby and platinum rap artist Outkast.

Each of these viral Rock the Vote PSAs is a call-to-action; Brilliant Digital's virtual technology creates the 3D heads of the artists who can now speak directly to teenagers online, empowering them to get involved in their communities and register to vote. This effort marks Rock the Vote's most vibrant viral Internet advertising campaign ever executed. The audience for this advertising campaign is the millions of American teenagers who count Internet interaction as a part of everyday life. Rock the Vote has designed this campaign as a vehicle to reach teens and spark a return to street activism. A separate viral campaign has been created targeting music industry executives, featuring Island/Def Jam CEO Lyor Cohen and Warner Records Creative Director and Rock the Vote co-founder Jeff Ayeroff.

"We are creating a new way of political communication that people haven't seen before. Rock the Vote's PSAs are tools that encourage activism, and Brilliant Digital Entertainment has been able to combine the two things that impact people the most -- entertainment and technology," said Mario Velasquez, Executive Director of Rock the Vote. "Rock The Vote is charged with the mission of motivating youth, and we are so successful at it because of the involvement of some of the biggest names in the music industry. These are artists with a cause -- and Brilliant Digital's technology in our PSAs provides these artists an easy and compelling way to inspire millions to activism."

By merging political messages and recognizable artists, the talking head Web videos inspire viewers to get involved. The brief ads serve to simultaneously educate and organize today's youth by encouraging them to sign a petition in support of national hate crime legislation introduced by Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.). Additionally, the ads call upon these same youths to join Rock the Vote's street teams, and allow easy online voter registration powered by elections.com. The PSAs also feature links to the artists' personal fan sites.

As an extension to Rock the Vote's effective dialogues that combine entertainment and political messages, Brilliant Digital Entertainment was selected by Rock The Vote to produce, develop and serve these series of animated public service advertisements. The PSAs will be distributed via a network of Web sites including E! Online, Warner Bros. Online and Flipside Network that includes iwin.com and uproar.com. A new animated celebrity facial rendering will be distributed every three weeks, reaching new demographics and maintaining the momentum of the campaign.

"Brilliant Digital Entertainment recognizes that messages, much like

entertainment, are most effective when you merge action with dynamic technology," said Kevin Bermeister, CEO and President, Brilliant Digital Entertainment. "We are proud to be working with Rock the Vote to make the political process interactive. Brilliant Digital's technology offers the ability to track the results of the campaign, helping Rock the Vote more effectively target their audience."

This new campaign extends Rock the Vote's previous integrated campaign, which featured a 35% response rate and 22 million click-throughs, expected to be exceeded this year by Brilliant Digital's animated spots.

About Rock the Vote

Rock the Vote is a non-partisan, non-profit organization founded in 1990 by members of the recording industry. Rock the Vote is dedicated to protecting freedom of expression and empowering young people to change their world.

About Brilliant Digital Entertainment and b3d

Brilliant Digital Entertainment, Inc. (AMEX:BDE) is a leading developer of 3D technologies for rich media content creation, distribution and ad serving for the Internet. It licenses its content creation and authoring tools and ad serving technology to the content and advertising communities. The b3d Studio tools are used by studios, production houses, Web content suppliers and advertising agencies to produce entertainment, advertising and music content for the Internet. These authoring tools enable the creation and delivery of interactive, streaming, real-time 3D graphics over the Internet. Brilliant also licenses its Brilliant Banner ad serving technology to the Web based advertising industry. Brilliant produces 3D digitally animated interactive titles featuring popular characters and music artists such as Ja Rule, Sum 41, Ludacris, Superman, Xena, KISS and Ace Ventura. Developed using Brilliant's proprietary suite of b3d software tools, the full-screen productions have small files for faster downloads. Content is distributed broadly via Internet syndication to partners including Yahoo, Warner Bros. Online, MTV.com, Road Runner and VH1.com. Find out more at www.brilliantdigital.com.