Rick Smolan's The Obama Time Capsule

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From grass roots Facebook campaigns to viral YouTube videos, the Obama campaign took the presidential race to a new level in terms of personalization

Waynesboro, VA (Vocus) May 22, 2009

For the past three months Rick Smolan, a former Time, Life and National Geographic photographer best known as the creator of the "Day in the Life" book series has been working on a top secret project in partnership with technology giant Hewlett-Packard with additional support by Google, Facebook and AOL.

Scheduled to be launched at 12:01AM on May 21, and available exclusively at Amazon.com, THE OBAMA TIME CAPSULE will offer a fascinating glimpse at the future of publishing. Utilizing HP's print on demand (POD) technology, millions of Americans will be able to easily weave their own names, photos and messages into a historic large format book featuring the work of the world's leading photographers, graphic artists and writers.

THE OBAMA TIME CAPSULE, an exquisitely produced landscape format book measuring 26 inches across when open, is designed to showcase one of the most important presidential races in American History through the eyes of more than 140 of the world's top photographers.

While many publishing industry analysts agree that "Print on Demand"(POD) is how the majority of books will be published 5-10 years from now, at the moment illustrated POD books are primarily seen as vanity press titles. THE OBAMA TIME CAPSULE shatters this perception by featuring the work of more than 140 of the world's leading photojournalists plus commentary from Arianna Huffington, Joe Klein, General Colin Powell and Obama's sister Auma, as well as stunning information graphics from renowned designer Nigel Holmes.

Spanning a three year period from the tumultuous campaign, through Obama's first 100 days, this fascinating book captures the challenges and opportunities facing America's 44th President as he takes his place on the world stage.

Unlike any book ever produced before, THE OBAMA TIME CAPSULE offers readers a unique feature: by answering a few questions and uploading their own photos to the project website, each copy of the book integrates each readers' photos and stories into a historic and collectible time capsule. Each copy of the book is printed one at a time and each copy is unique.

The book offers readers seven different ways to personalize the book by adding their own content to what industry pundits expect to become an instant collectible.

Unique customization features include:

• A personalized dedication carries a message written by each book buyer
• Each book buyer is listed on the cover and title page as "co-author"
• A photograph of the customer appears on the back cover of the book
• A blackberry screen contains a personalized message from President Obama thanking the book buyer     for his or her support
• The book buyer is named on a personalized inauguration invitation
• A photograph of each book buyer appears alongside noted Obama supporters such as Scarlett Johanssen, George Clooney and Tiger Woods.
• Book buyers can add artwork by their children to a page of Obama related artwork from children around the country

"From grass roots Facebook campaigns to viral YouTube videos, the Obama campaign took the presidential race to a new level in terms of personalization," said Smolan, co-founder of Against All Odds Productions (AAO). "By combining our team's compelling storytelling techniques with HP's state-of-the-art POD publishing platform, we're enabling millions of people to seamlessly merge this moment in history with their own personal experiences."

ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Rick Smolan is a former Time, Life and National Geographic photographer best known as the co-creator of the Day in the Life and America 24/7 series. He and his partner, Jennifer Erwitt, are the principals of Against All Odds Productions, which specializes in the design and execution of large-scale global projects that combine compelling storytelling with state-of-the-art technology. Their projects have been featured on the covers of Time, Newsweek, Fortune and U.S. News and World Report and more than five million of their books adorn coffee tables around the world - many of them New York Times bestsellers. Fortune magazine describes Against All Odds as "one of the coolest companies in America."

Their books include America at Home, UK at Home, 24 Hours in Cyberspace, The Power to Heal, Passage to Vietnam, One Digital Day, and From Alice to Ocean.

America 24/7, represented the first time in publishing history that a New York Times bestseller was mass customized by readers (21% of all book buyers created their own personalized book covers).

ABOUT THE SPONSOR
About HP: To make this book possible, HP is fundamentally changing the traditional publishing business model by utilizing an Internet-based platform that makes it possible to print customizable content on demand at low cost. By leveraging the Internet, publishers have fewer barriers to market - the need for large press runs and prepublication costs are removed. Additionally, by only printing what is necessary, excess inventory and waste are also eliminated.

Once a book is purchased and personalized, the HP platform "publishers the book" by uploading the customized pages to a designated print service provider (PSP), which then prints the book using HP's Indigo presses, where it is then bound and shipped directly to the buyer.

HP, the world's largest technology company, simplifies the technology experience for consumers and businesses with a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com. Note to editors: More news from HP, including links to RSS feeds, is available at http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom.

ABOUT THE SUPPORTING SPONSORS
About Google: Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. We were attracted to The Obama Time Capsule because of its focus on capturing a historic event. We are pleased that our products were utilized to help users share their thoughts and photographs
with a broad audience.

About AOL | Platform -A: It's a rapidly changing world, especially online. With so many digital options, how can a marketer break through? Platform-A, AOL's advertising division, engages your audience within AO L's premium brands, then extends your message across Advertising.com's trusted network. So even in today's fragmented market, it's easy to drive measurable results.

About Facebook: Facebook is a social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them. People use Facebook to keep up with friends, upload photos, share links and videos, and learn more about the people they meet. Having played an important role in the 2008 election process, Facebook is pleased to be associated with THE OBAMA TIME CAPSULE.

About Blurb: Blurb is a company and a community that believes passionately in the joy of books- reading them, making them, sharing them, and selling them. Blurb reduces your carbon footprint by printing and binding your books in a location nearest you, around the world. Blurb's creative publishing network is a proud sponsor of The Obama Time Capsule.

About Microsoft: Photographers can spend less time in front of the PC and more time behind the lens with products like Expression Media 2 and Windows Live Photo Gallery, software to help the passionate photographer stay organized. Visit microsoft.com/prophoto.

About NewPage: NewPage Corporation is the largest coated paper manufacturer in North America. We are proud to support THE OBAMA TIME CAPSULE because it showcases our reputation for high-quality on-demand printing. This book was printed using Sterling Ultra Digital for HP Indigo paper.

For more information contact Cathy Saypol (212.288.8496) saypolpr(at)aol(dot)com or Johanna Ramos-Boyer (703.646.5137) johanna(at)jrbcomm(dot)com.

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