New York - Nickelodeon's
SpongeBob SquarePants is making waves throughout the Twitter-verse with the debut of an original story created exclusively for the social networking site.
The Ice Race Cometh: A Twitter-Tale, conceived and developed for Twitter by the
SpongeBob SquarePants writing team, will run from Tuesday, July 12, through Friday, July 15.
The story will be told via multiple tweets and images throughout each day, as SpongeBob and his friends prepare for The Bikini Bottom Great Sleigh Race.
The Ice Race Cometh serves as a prequel to "Frozen Face Off," the new, primetime
SpongeBob television episode, premiering Friday, July 15, at 8:00 p.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon.
"SpongeBob's fan base is so broad that about a third of its audience is adults, so we wanted to extend the show's magic to new places like Twitter so those fans can experience it," says Roland Poindexter, senior vice president of animation and current series, Nickelodeon. "SpongeBob is already a big deal in the social media space, with 25 million Facebook fans, and we hope his Twitter debut will drum up some extra excitement for all the people who love him and the show."
As the Bikini Bottom gang debuts their original Twitter tale--a first for the social media site and SpongeBob--fans will be able to watch the story unfold and track the characters via a Twitter List or a custom tab on the SpongeBob Facebook page.
The Ice Race Cometh: A Twitter-Tale begins with a tweet from Bikini Bottom Action News: an anonymous "wealthy entrepreneur" offers a cool million clams to the winner of The Bikini Bottom Great Sleigh Race. Several competitors chime in, including SpongeBob, Patrick, Sandy, Mr. Krabs, Plankton and even Gary, about their preparations for the race. The messages fly back and forth, with contestants 'trash talking' one another right up to the moment when the race is about to begin.
SpongeBob is no stranger to social media. In January, Nickelodeon broke new ground with the Facebook premiere of an original animated program, "Trenchbillies," in advance of its TV debut. Nickelodeon currently has more than 84 million fans on Facebook across all of its pages, and SpongeBob himself has amassed 25 million, more than The Beatles and President Obama.
In the July 15 primetime TV special, "Frozen Face Off," Bikini Bottom is buzzing with excitement as the town prepares for a sleigh race sponsored by an anonymous donor. But the gang's dreams of winning the $1 million prize come to a screeching halt when they discover Plankton's scheme to steal the Krabby Patty formula during the race. SpongeBob and his friends must work together to navigate through the icy tundra and past a menacing snow mollusk before Plankton gets his hands on Mr. Krabs' secret formula.