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My favorite way to win...
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U Rock, occasionally stylized URock, was a series of annual contests held by Disney Channel from 2008 to 2011, which gave users a drive to celebrate trendy songs and artists associated with the network through the conception of customized videos set to the disposed music for an opportunity to earn cool prizes. Initially posed to elevate musical properties, it quickly became a voguish attraction in its early run, culminating in further editions up to the turn of the decade. Phineas and Ferb turned out to be an integral part to the final campaigns, suiting the cartoon's unprecedented acclaim.
User-generated content displays, the events were notable for making good use of the emerging interactivity aspect on the website, eventually appropriating its own particular domain at urock.disney.go.com as a result. This hallmark permitted it to serve a secondhand function of appeal advertiser, linking to hubs concerning the starring franchises, miscellaneous celebrity products, related Disney Store catalogues, occurring Walt Disney World parties, pertinent Radio Disney assemblies, and even concurrent activities like the Summer Vacation Summerizer festivities.
Symbolized by a comic notebook touch, the sweepstakes had its overall creative direction managed by visual designer Ryan Gotanda, who aimed for an unpolished rough-around-the-edges feel in line with the inventive proficiency of the target children crowd, handling the painted logo, net nucleus, e-mail parameters, and marketing assets on that premise.[1] Combining the personalized expression motif with the Disney Create profiling stirred two mashup pastimes involving the caricature doodles of beloved characters drawn for the audio celebration.
Contests[]
U Rock the Summer[]
The inceptional event was U Rock the Summer, officially entitled U Rock the Summer on Disney.com Sweepstakes, organized from August 4, 2008 at 12 am EST to September 1, 2008 at 12 am EST. Featured were the songs "All for One" from High School Musical 2, "Burnin' Up" by the Jonas Brothers, "Ever Ever After" from Enchanted, and "One World" from The Cheetah Girls: One World, all downloadable for usage on arranged videos alongside printable lyrics.[2] Other goodies available consisted in mouse followers themed around the represented franchises.
Thousands of entries were submitted both in the online area and via mail packaging to Burbank, garnering over a million rates and comments on recordings.[3] To recompense this effort, awards comprised a group trip for the High School Musical 3 world debut and after party; four tickets to The Cheetah Girls: One World Tour to meet the band and get their disc; a recording session for a Disneymania 6 tune next to singer Jordan Pruitt; four passes to the Jonas Brothers' Burnin' Up Tour to encounter the siblings and obtain their album; and a private Radio Disney Street Jam Party for up to 250 people.[4]
U Rock 2[]
One year later, the sequel competition U Rock 2 was inaugurated under an incremented fleshed out format. Nominations, entered from June 1, 2009 at 12 am EST to July 12, 2009 at 12 am EST, were separated into eight categories, four devoted to the best overall productions and four assigned to quality characteristics. Popular vote lasting between July 17, 2009 at 12 am to August 1, 2009 at 12 am determined the ten finalists for each specification, while insider judges chose the winners based on creativity, entertainment, effects, and originality.[5]
Musical numbers picked for this rendition were "One and the Same" from Princess Protection Program, "Paranoid" by the Jonas Brothers, "Hey" by Mitchel Musso, and "Ready to Rock" from G-Force.[6] Sprucing the interactivity, texting an SMS to Disney now allowed visitors to check out creations on mobile devices. Apart from these, nine secret videos could be watched on the webpage, showing Remy, Emile, Bugsy, WALL-E, Rhino, Taylorskate9 from Club Penguin, Flippy, Duane, and Perry jamming out to the songs, the latter to the fourth tune.[7][8]
A tally of 1,092 submissions and 765 comments was accounted for the public polling,[6] leading to the announcement of the eight victors on August 7, 2009 at 12 am EST.[9] This time, the grand jackpots embodied a bundle deal containing a two-person expedition to Los Angeles, a visit to the set of a Disney Channel program, an in-studio Radio Disney Take Over together with a signed talent, and a Princess Protection Program Royal BFF Extended Edition DVD.[5] As a bonus, the Your Zone: Rock Out Memory Challenge was playable for a free transfer of the "Ice Cream Freeze" single from Hannah Montana.[10]
U Rock 2010[]
2010 saw the advent of a third installment for the sweepstakes bonanza, denominated U Rock 2010 or U Rock 3. Spanning the period from July 7, 2010 at 12 am EST to August 23, 2010 at 5 pm EST for entrees, this bout had the return of the eight classifications attributed to musical gigs, albeit reducing the number of finalists in half to five, presumably to speed up the surveying and deciding process between August 31, 2010 at 5 pm EST to September 13, 2010 at 5 pm EST. Similarly, the previous criteria quartet came back to ultimately guide the arbiters' choices.[11]
Among the melodies dispersed for the occurrence were "L.A. Baby" from Jonas, "It's On" from Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam, "Dance Forever" by Allstar Weekend, and "Backyard Beach" from Phineas and Ferb.[12] Besides the MP3 files, ZIP-compressed folders encompassing a myriad of doodle graphics rooted on illustrated characters could be digitized for usage in editing as visual enhancers.[13] Additionally, a five-chapter string of videos on stars explaining the whole process turned watchable,[12] as well as three bonus Fun Vids starring WALL-E, Emile, and Woody.[14]
A cumulative of 4,854 acts and 2,877 notes was registered,[15] climaxing at the victors' reveals on September 16, 2010 at 5 pm EST. Big rewards were "L.A. Baby" receiving a peek at the sitcom's scenarios, "It's On" granting four tickets to the Camp Rock 2 concert and a cast meetup, "Dance Forever" earning a thirty-minute band session handing an autographed guitar and a $1,000 Disney Store coupon, and "Backyard Beach" bestowing an animation backstage look and a spot recording;[11] minor categories got a Disney Music Pack of 25 CDs and a $100 gift credit. Extras covered posters of Toy Story, WALL-E, Ratatouille, and Phineas and Ferb.[16]
U Rock the Holidays[]
In 2011, the competition happened again to commemorate the holiday season under the label U Rock the Holidays. The established format for the lyrical challenge was maintained in this edition, which lasted from November 1, 2011 at 5 pm EST to December 13, 2011 at 5 pm EST on the ingress phase. However, a significant change occurred on the gauging interval on December 22, 2011 at 5 pm EST, as submissions demanded validation to be scored later on by the four criteria, with the highest-graded universal entry attaining victory without any public input.[17]
Chilly tracks diffused for this extravaganza were "Life's a Happy Song" and "Forget You" from The Muppets, "Naughty Naughty Children" from Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice, "Dig Down Deeper" from Pixie Hollow Games, "Mistletoe" by Justin Bieber, "Gator Bytes" from Where's My Water?, and "Winter Vacation" and "Christmas is Starting Now" from "Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation!".[18] Beyond those, present clips with Casey & Tyler, Agent P, Swampy, the Muppets, WALL-E, and a penguin from Club Penguin rocking out were featured in the homepage.[19][20]
A sole champion was announced from 2,061 candidates[21] on January 5, 2012 at 12 am EST, being given a chance of traveling to spectate a music taping for a recording artist and meeting the household star. Coupling with that, a daily sweepstakes held from November 1, 2011 at 5 pm EST to December 21, 2011 at 12 am EST dished out 45 parcels stashing an album, a notebook, and a pen to registered participants drawn at 10 am EST between November 8, 2011 to December 22, 2011. Finally, a Where's My Water? app giveaway was done for each verified entrant.[17]
Disney Create[]
U Rock Painter[]
A Disney Create digital painter sandbox inspired on the U Rock event was released in 2009. Like other painters, it involved designing flashy paintings using the marker, spray, color, text, displacing, and zoom tools in conjunction with the stamps and backgrounds set up. Creations could be either saved, printed, or downloaded upon completion. Below is a listing of the customization options:
Stamps
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Backgrounds
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U Rock 2010 Painter[]
A second smaller draftboard rooted on the U Rock 2010 contest was posted in 2010. As is expected, it utilized the same marker, spray, color, text, and zoom tools together with a varied selection of stamps and backdrops both original and from the previous game for creations to be saved, printed, or downloaded. Below is a catalog of the customization options:
Stamps
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Backgrounds
- Plain
- Webs
- Chalk
- Papercuts
- Guitars
- Blurred
- Drums
- Mesh
- Paint
U Rock Holiday Painter[]
Accompanying the closing winter sweepstakes was a holiday-themed painter published in November 2011, employing the typical format of marker, spray, color, text, and zoom tools coupled with special drawing pens next to a plethora of festive stamps and scenarios to construct a snowy masterpiece for saving, printing, or downloading. Below is an index of the customization options:
Stamps
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Backgrounds
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Markers
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Gallery[]
Contests[]
Disney Create[]
References[]
- ↑ U Rock the Summer - Ryan Gotanda
- ↑ U Rock the Summer | Make A Video | Pick A Song
- ↑ Disney.com Launches U Rock 2
- ↑ U Rock the Summer - Official Rules
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Rules | U Rock 2
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Watch Videos | U Rock 2
- ↑ Secret Videos | U Rock 2
- ↑ U Rock 2 - Perry the Platypus Rocks Out to Steve Rushton
- ↑ Finalists | U Rock 2
- ↑ Rockin' Prizes | U Rock 2
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 U Rock 2010 - Rules
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 U Rock 2010 - Main Page
- ↑ Phineas and Ferb Doodle Graphics
- ↑ U Rock 2010 - Fun Vids
- ↑ U Rock 2010 - Watch Videos
- ↑ U Rock 2010 - Rockin' Prizes
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Official Rules | U Rock the Holidays
- ↑ Get the Songs | U Rock the Holidays
- ↑ Main Page | U Rock the Holidays
- ↑ Main Page #2 | U Rock the Holidays
- ↑ Watch Videos | U Rock the Holidays