Octagon First Call

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas (Already)

Now that Halloween has passed and Thanksgiving is approaching, holiday campaigns are coming out:

Justin Bieber released his first Christmas album on Tuesday, which includes collaborations with rapper Busta Rhymes and Bieber’s mentor Usher. Bieber is also kicking off the holiday season with the Believe Charity Drive at JustinBieberMusic.com, where fans are encouraged to donate to the seven charities he’ll be supporting with proceeds from the holiday album.  As we've discussed before, Christmas music can be a tricky beast in terms of licensing, but worthy of the trouble for lucrative PR push.

Kodak announced its “Celebrity Cards for a Cause” program featuring cards designed by Molly Sims, Marcia Cross, Angie Harmon, in collaboration with stationary designer Bonnie Marcus. Each of the ladies will design a holiday card, with the profits of each for a designated charity including The Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (Cross’ card).

Former TLC superstar Kate Gosselin has teamed up with website CouponCabin, as a new blogger – where her first post will discuss how to navigate the craziness of the holiday shopping season.

For the 3^rd year in a row, Shaq has partnered with Toys R Us and Toys for Tots for the “Join Shaq Give Back” campaign, encouraging shoppers to donated new unwrapped gifts to families in need.

On November 10, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi will join HSN for “two hours of fun and unexpected gifts.” Expect to see daily programming on HSN and HSN.com with other celebrity-licensed products in the coming months.

Beringer wines has once again partnered with the Deen Brothers to kick off the holiday season and their Million Meals charity initiative. For every purchase of Beringer Founders’ Estate wine during November and December, a dollar goes to hunger charities worldwide. The Deen brothers will provide unique recipes to compliment the purchased wines and will lead the public relations charge.

Brands like JC Penney, Dunkin Donuts, AAA, Home Depot, Whole Foods and Yankee Candles have begun their holiday advertising and PR pushes as well.

This Week on Talk Shows March 21 – 25

Monday, March 21  

Martin's newest album dropped last week. This is his 2nd Bluegrass album and was inspired by his upcoming film The Big Year.

Today: Todd and Colton Burpo
David Letterman: Dana Carvey, Dr. Michio Kaku, British Sea Power
Jay Leno: Zachary Levi, Lisa Lampanelli, Raphael Saadiq
Jimmy Kimmel: Liv Tyler, Mark Cuban, Brett Dennen
Craig Ferguson: Denis Leary, Kathleen Madigan
Jimmy Fallon: Kiefer Sutherland, Emily Browning, Little Dragon
Carson Daly: Tom Shadyac, the Voice Project, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Tavis Smiley: Ted Danson
Colbert Report: Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers
Chelsea Lately: Avril Lavigne, Brad Wollack, Natasha Leggero, Matt Braunger
Conan O'Brien: Sarah Silverman, Biz Stone, Pete Holmes
Lopez Tonight: Emmy Rossum, 30 Seconds to Mars
The View: Kiefer Sutherland, Jim Gaffigan, Dick Cavett
Regis and Kelly: Cher (rebroadcast), behind the scenes with Dean Karnazes
Ellen DeGeneres: Jimmy Fallon

Tuesday, March 22
Today: Elizabeth Berkley
David Letterman: Katie Couric, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Jay Leno: Duran Duran
Jimmy Kimmel: Rainn Wilson, Abbie Cornish, the Gaslight Anthem

NBC's The Office prepares of Steve Carell's departure (Airing April 28)

Craig Ferguson: Helena Bonham Carter, Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers
Jimmy Fallon: Dwight Howard, Richard Ashcroft
Carson Daly: Bill Hader, Stuart Gordon, the Morning Benders
Tavis Smiley: Eve Ensler
Colbert Report: Ayman Mohyeldin
Chelsea Lately: Vera Wang, Chris Hardwick, Jo Koy, Sarah Colonna
Conan O'Brien: Eric Stonestreet, Sarah Chalke, Teddy Thompson
Lopez Tonight: Jim Rome
The View: Jennifer Hudson
Regis and Kelly: Russell Crowe, Chris Colfer (rebroadcasts), more from Dean Karnazes
Ellen DeGeneres: Clive Owen, Rainn Wilson, Selena Gomez

Wednesday, March 23
Today: Martha Stewart, Harlan Coben
David Letterman: Ben Stiller, Dario Franchitti, the Strokes
Jay Leno: Carol Burnett, Jason Ritter, Keith Urban
Jimmy Kimmel: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jerry Weintraub, Quinn Sullivan
Craig Ferguson: Jim Parsons
Jimmy Fallon: Trey Parker & Matt Stone
Carson Daly: Ben Schwartz, Duncan Jones, Biffy Clyro
Tavis Smiley: Julian Schnabel
Colbert Report: Nathan Myhrvold
Chelsea Lately: Carla Gugino, Chris Franjola, Loni Love, Greg Proops
Conan O'Brien: Vanessa Hudgens, The Miz, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals
Lopez Tonight: Micky Ward, Ron Artest featuring George Lopez, Fat Joe, B Real, Lenny and Max from Aventura and Taz
The View: Donald Trump, Clinton Kelly, Rocco DiSpirito
Regis and Kelly: Jonah Hill, Ty Burrell, Paula Deen, Gordon Ramsey (rebroadcasts), a day in the life of Dean Karnazes
Ellen DeGeneres: Vanessa Hudgens, Bryan Adams 

Thursday, March 24

Alley is sure to draw audiences to the March 21 premier of DWTS

Today: Geneen Roth
David Letterman: Rainn Wilson, Hank Aaron, Mountain Goats
Jay Leno: Kirstie Alley, Peter, Bjorn & John
Jimmy Kimmel: Penelope Cruz, Paul Iacono, Oh Land
Craig Ferguson: Jason Biggs, Jennifer Ouellette
Jimmy Fallon: Rachel Maddow, Tres Mts.
Carson Daly: Zack Snyder, Nick Frost, Simon Pegg, Ra Ra Riot
Tavis Smiley: T.C. Boyle, Ray Lewis
Colbert Report: Jody Williams
Chelsea Lately: Brittany Snow, Jim Norton, Ross Mathews, Jen Kirkman
Conan O'Brien: Steven Ho, Patton Oswalt, Wanda Jackson
The View: Richard Lewis, Sarah Brokaw
Regis and Kelly: Michelle Obama (rebroadcast), Dean Karnazes and "People on the Road"
Ellen DeGeneres: David Schwimmer, Michael Grimm

Friday, March 25

Orman's newest book on personal finance was published on March 8, 2011

David Letterman: Donald Trump, Vanessa Hudgens, Oh Land
Jay Leno: Jennifer Hudson, William H. Macy
Craig Ferguson: Topher Grace, Catherine Deneuve
Jimmy Fallon: Cut Copy
Carson Daly: David Fricke, Stacey Wilhelm
Tavis Smiley: Suze Orman, Alan Arkin
The View: Kate Winslet, Brooks & Leslie Douglass
Regis and Kelly: Justin Bieber (rebroadcast), "On the Road After Hours" with Dean Karnazes
Ellen DeGeneres: Jeff Gordon, Duran Duran, Kathy Freston

Ads at the Oscars: Sold Out, Social and with Celebrity

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This Sunday the 83^rd Annual Academy Awards will host the best and brightest of Hollywood to recognize and celebrate the year's films. Referred to as the "Super Bowl" of the entertainment world, we're keeping an eye on this year's advertisers.

Two weeks ago, ABC announced that they had sold the full inventory of spots at a higher rate than the previous two years.  At a cool 1.7 million per 30-second spot, brands are hoping to attract some of the same eyeballs that set a viewership record at this year's Super Bowl. That record reflects a trend of the past year:  live "big television" events have larger audiences and higher ratings.

The voice of Hyundai, Jeff Bridges, with his 2010 Oscar.

Advertisers including JC Penney, AT&T, Coca-Cola (Diet Coke spot), Sprint, Procter & Gamble, Hyundai, Nokia, Amazon.com, Anheuser-Busch, McDonald's and Best Buy have bought spots in this year's telecast. Dove and LivingSocial.com, have announced new campaigns while others like Anheuser-Busch (Stella Artois featuring Adrien Brody) and Best Buy (Justin Bieber, Ozzy Osbourne) will likely run spots that debuted in the Super Bowl. Exclusive auto advertiser, Hyundai, is back again and like last year, will have to comply with the Academy's rules surrounding ads and nominees - Best Actor nominee Jeff Bridges (True Grit) has been Hyundai's voiceover talent for four years running and was featured in the Super Bowl.

After launching a new brand tagline last year, JC Penney will again take a new approach to rebrand itself in 2011 with a new company logo and spring campaign. Introducing itself as "JCP," the retail giant will highlight collections from Cindy Crawford, Liz Claiborne and MNG by Mango. JCP has been the exclusive retail sponsor of the Oscars for the last 10 years.

90210 actress and Dancing With the Stars alum Jennie Garth will appear for Dove, who will run two commercials. The spots will also promote a contest that will offer the winner a chance to perform during a commercial breakof the season finale of DWTS.  As we've said before, the influence of the DWTS brand is undeniable. Garth, like many other castmembers, launched themselves back into relevancy - and caught the eyes of marketers. Be sure to check back this Monday, February 28, for a full list of the newest DWTS cast and our take on their marketing futures.

Last year, the number of celebrities in ads dropped. However, if the Super Bowl and Grammys are any indication - we expect to see a rise in celebrity appearances. At the Grammys in particular, nearly one in every four advertisements featured a celebrity.

With a similar fan base and audience, brands at the Oscars are sure to tap into the star power.  We already know that the American Cancer Society will be running a new spot featuring Celine Dion, and Venus will be showing two spots featuring Jennifer Lopez. With the influx of celebrity/brand partnership seen at this year’s earlier events, we expect to see more celebrity spots return for Hollywood’s big night.

The Oscars will run this Sunday, February 27 at 8pm ET on ABC. See a complete list of nominees here and check back on Monday for our recap of the evening, including a list of winners and celebrity ads.

Grammy Awards: Best New Artist Marketing Power

The Grammy Awards honors the year's hottest in music, and offers a national platform to instantly increase artists' marketability. The musicians that stand to gain the most from the night are those who win Best New Artist, joining the ranks of The Beatles, Cyndi Lauper, Mariah Carey, and Alicia Keys.

While nominees are just entering the prime of their careers, history shows these winners become marketable quickly. Here's a look at the careers and marketability of a few of the Best New Artist winners:

• Zac Brown Band - Following last year's win, the country music band found cross-over success opening for Dave Matthews Band on tour, and saw corporate partnerships roll in. The Ram Truck Brand and Zac Brown Band partnered in May 2010 on "Letters for Lyrics," a national letter-writing campaign aimed at sending 1 million letters of appreciation to U.S. soldiers; and they joined Cracker Barrel as part of the chain's "Exclusive Music" collection to promote their album, The Foundation. At most shows, the band hosts "Eat and Greets" with fans having the opportunity to hang out the whole band before the show and enjoy Southern Ground Grub cooked and prepared by Zac and Chef Rusty Hamlin. Zac Brown Band will open for Kenny Chesney on his upcoming summer tour.

Zac Brown Brand

• Carrie Underwood - Since winning American Idol in 2005 and the Best New Artist Grammy in 2007, country music's sweetheart has become a multi-platinum selling artist and an endorsement favorite for big brands including Skechers, Hershey's, VitaminWater and Nintendo DS. A sure sign that her marketability is not slowing down, Carrie recently became the first U.S. Brand Ambassador for Olay.

• John Legend - This past winner has used his platform to support many philanthropic endeavors including GQ Magazine's Gentlemen Fund and Tide for Hurricane Katrina Relief. He is currently the spokesman for Bailey's liqueur. Last year, American Express included John Legend as part of its "Unstaged" program.

• Maroon 5 - Since their Grammy win, Maroon 5 has consistently stayed on top of industry charts, becoming a staple in the media, and a favorite for corporate events. Most recently, the band performed at Super Bowl XLV as part of DirecTV's 2011 Celebrity Beach Bowl featuring 30+ celebrities, and during the corporate tailgate with Keith Urban. They've performed at events for Pepsi and Apple. Their music is also a favorite for commercials, with songs being featured in ads for BMW, Target, the CW Network, and HBO.  

Drake for Sprite

What will winning the award do for this year's lucky winner? A few of this year's nominees have already landed major branding deals like Drake (Kodak, Sprite) and Justin Bieber (Best Buy, PETA, ProActiv, JustBeats).Those who haven't - Florence & The Machine, Mumford & Sons, and Esperanza Spalding - can only benefit by coupling their talents with the "Grammy Award winning" title.

Here are the Twitter handles for this year's Best New Artist nominees - we'll be watching to see how their following grows throughout the show on Sunday, and post-win for the one lucky winner:

• Drake (@drakkardnoir) - 1.7 million+ followers; 348 tweets
• Esperanza Spalding (@EspeSpalding) - 2,000+ followers; 6 tweets
• Florence & The Machine (@flo_tweet) - 54,000+ followers; 163 tweets
• Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) - 7 million+ followers; 7,462 tweets
• Mumford & Sons (@MumfordandSons1) - 7,500+ followers; 1 tweet

The Grammy Awards air this Sunday at 8pm ET/PT on CBS, and the official Twitter hashtag is #Grammys2011.

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Super Bowl Special – February 2011

And, the Winners Are...

For those in the industry, competition between brands (and their commercials) often overshadows competition on the field - and the morning after, everyone wants to know who won. USA Today's annual Ad Meter , which measures ad success with second-by-second responses from a panel of viewers, had its first-ever tie. Both Doritos and Bud Light won the hearts of viewers with ads featuring dogs. No ad in the top 10 of the Ad Meter selections featured a celebrity (unless you count VW's Little Darth Vader ad featuring talented 6 -year-old Max Page who was a guest on The Today Show this morning).

Anticipating that viewers would turn to Twitter to share real-time reactions to commercials, Brand Bowl set out again to score and rank ads based on total number of tweets - containing hash tag #BrandBowl - and their positive or negative sentiments. (Ads are still being measured in real time).  Here are a few of the most buzzed about brands of right now - for better or worse:

• VW: score of 140 with 3,943 total tweets, overwhelming positive (+19.4)
• Chrysler: score of 127 with 3648 total tweets, mostly positive (+17.1)
• Groupon: score of 81 with 2775 total tweets, mostly negative (-4.5)
• Motorola: score of 59 with 1759 total tweets, mostly positive (+3.5)

First Call's Michael Jacobson (@MJ4030) joined fellow marketing and brand experts for a live roundtable discussion via Twitter, hosted by Sports Business Daily.  A summary of their conversation can be found in today's issue of The Daily (or you can follow the hash tag #SBDSB) - but in the end Chrysler and Volkswagen emerged as the clear winners.

Musicians Reigned the Night

Audi featured saxophonist Kenny G as a riot suppressor in their escape from "Old Luxury" prison spot. Audi says Kenny G was chosen for his "unmistakable music, whose songs and stylings brings the audience back to a certain era." The Black Eyed Peas appeared as cartoon versions of themselves in the commercial for Chatter.com, an online firm that allows colleagues to share files anywhere in the world with fellow employees. The spot aired just before the real Black Eyes Peas performed during the Half-Time Show. Eminem appeared in two commercials this year. In a spot for Lipton Brisk, he appears in claymation talking about being "asked to do commercials all the time." Set to the rapper's "Lose Yourself," his spot for Chrysler served as both a tribute to Detroit's past and a look to the future in introducing the Chrysler 200. Two-time U.S. Champion figure-skater Alissa Czisny, a member of the Detroit Skating Club, was also featured in the spot.

Country musician Faith Hill starred in a spot for Teleflora titled "Help Me Faith." The commercial takes place in a recording studio, with Hill offering advice to a young sound engineer who is sending a Teleflora bouquet to his girlfriend for Valentine's Day. Diddy loses his silver Mercedes-Benz in a spot for the car company and its new futuristic Mercedes-Benz Biome, which isn't expected to hit the road until 2015. Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne joined forces with teen-star Justin Bieber as they demonstrated the progression of technology from 3G mobile phones to 4G and even 6G for Best Buy. The cast of Glee starred in a new commercial for Chevrolet that aired during the post-Super Bowl episode of the series. The ad, which features Sue Sylvester telling the Glee club that she has booked them for a commercial, was teased during the actual game.

Sex Sells

Go Daddy once again went for risqué with two spots featuring their spokeswoman racecar driver Danica Patrick. Patrick was joined by television personality Joan Rivers, and fitness trainer and The Biggest Loser star Jillian Michaels as the new Go Daddy girls. Reality star Kim Kardashian flirted her way through Skeckers Super Bowl spot touting the message that you can break up with your personal trainer if you wear Skechers Shape-Ups. In their Super Bowl advertising debut, Stella Artois looked to Oscar-winning actor Adrien Brody. Brody appears to be serenading a group of women with a smooth, classy song. Only instead it turns out that he is actually singing to a glass of Stella Artois.

Unmistakable Voices and Faces

Oscar-winning actor Jeff Bridges continued his voiceover work for Hyundai, who featured three in-game commercials in its fourth consecutive year of Super Bowl advertising. Also doing voiceover work for Super Bowl ads were Tim Allen for Chevrolet and Jon Hamm for Mercedes-Benz. Trying to recreate the magic of Betty White's commercial last year, comedic legends Roseanne Barr and Richard Lewis appeared in Snickers' ad titled "Logging." The campaign will also include a series of print and digital ads that will feature the two stars. In the most controversial spot of the night, actor Timothy Hutton deplored the troubles of Tibetan culture while touting Groupon. Groupon's three Super Bowl ads were set to the same premise: saving something endangered, and a few bucks. The NFL aired a 60-second spot, titled "American Family," which featured over 40 actors who appeared on TV's most popular shows over the years, including The Brady Bunch, Cheers, Family Matters, Friends, Full House, Happy Days, Modern Family, Seinfeld, The Simpsons, South Park, and The Office, among others.

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This Week on Talk Shows Jan 31- Feb 4

Monday, January 31

Today: Justin Bieber, Elizabeth Gilbert, Chef Luke Mangan

Bieber's Never Say Never will release in theaters on Feb. 11

GMA: Jed Rubenfeld

Early Show: Billy Gardell

David Letterman: Justin Bieber, Pauley Perrette, Best Coast
Jay Leno: Adam Sandler, Larry the Cable Guy, Esperanza Spalding
Jimmy Kimmel: Julianna Margulies, Matthew Bomer, the JaneDear Girls
Craig Ferguson: Rachael Ray
Jimmy Fallon: Bill Paxton, Adam Scott, Edie Brickell
Carson Daly: Lemmy Kilmister, Ryan Case, Delta Spirit
Tavis Smiley: Ed O'Neill, Meghan Linsey, Joshua Scott Jones
Daily Show: Bill Gates
Colbert Report: Samer Shehata, Dr. Paul Offit
Chelsea Lately: Kevin Smith, Brad Wollack, Dov Davidoff, Natasha Leggero
Conan O'Brien: Amy Poehler, Tim Heidecker & Eric Wareheim, Randy Rogers Band
Lopez Tonight: Jamie Foxx, Jake Johnson
The View: Billy Gardell, Camille Grammer
The Talk: Taraji P. Henson, Stefanie Powers
Regis and Kelly: Barbara Walters, Johnny Galecki, Leo Laporte, guest co-host Joy Philbin
Ellen DeGeneres: Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Marisa Miller, the Band Perry

Tuesday, February 1

Matthew Perry's Mr. Sunshine debuts on Feb. 9 on ABC

Today: Candace Cameron Bure, Ricky Martin

GMA: Matthew Perry, Brooke Shields, Mitt Romney

David Letterman: Matthew Perry, Chris Elliott, a Top Ten List presented by Mitt Romney, the National
Jay Leno: Helena Bonham Carter, Timothy Olyphant, One eskimO
Jimmy Kimmel: Jamie Foxx, Sarah Shahi
Craig Ferguson: Dr. Cornel West, George Clinton
Jimmy Fallon: Ice Cube, Leighton Meester, Todd Rundgren
Carson Daly: Holt McCallany, Plan B, Interpol
Tavis Smiley: Amos Lee, Rod Woodson
Daily Show: Michael Steele
Colbert Report: Leslie Dach, Michael Lewis
Chelsea Lately: Kevin Nealon, Jo Koy, Michael Yo, John Caparulo
Conan O'Brien: Jennifer Aniston, Nick Offerman, Peter, Bjorn & John
Lopez Tonight: DeSean Jackson, the Thermals
The View: Mitt Romney, Ann Romney, Dr. Steven Lamm, Dr. Doris Day, Dr. Donnica Moore
The Talk: Suzanne Somers
Regis and Kelly: Lisa Kudrow, Minka Kelly
Ellen DeGeneres: Julianna Margulies, Kevin Nealon

Wednesday, February 2

Today: Mark Bittman

GMA: Jessica Wu

David Letterman: Kate Walsh, Jim Gaffigan, Boxer Rebellion
Jay Leno: Matt LeBlanc, Jennifer Lawrence, Ryan Bingham
Jimmy Kimmel: David Arquette, Jonathan Winters, Tinie Tempah
Craig Ferguson: Jim Parsons, Kurt Metzger
Jimmy Fallon: Samuel L. Jackson, Larry the Cable Guy, Phantogram
Carson Daly: Rich Eisen, Meltdown Comedy, Screaming Females
Tavis Smiley: Atul Gawande, Blythe Danner
Daily Show: Matthew Perry
Colbert Report: Sean Kelly
Chelsea Lately: Rachel Bilson, Bill Bellamy, Chris Franjola, Whitney Cummings
Conan O'Brien: Kobe Bryant, Camilla Belle, Jamie Kilstein
Lopez Tonight: Mindy Kaling, Derek Fisher, Jasper Redd, Arturo Sandoval
The View: Ricky Martin
The Talk: Jean Smart
Regis and Kelly: Julianne Hough, Larry the Cable Guy
Ellen DeGeneres: Taylor Armstrong, Camille Grammer, Adrienne Maloof, Kyle Richards, Lisa Vanderpump, Darren Criss, world's fastest violinist Oliver Lewis

Thursday, February 3

Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler star in Just Go With It, out on Feb. 11

Today: Sunny Anderson

GMA: Andrea Buchanan

Early Show: Johnny Galecki

David Letterman: Howard Stern, Naughty By Nature
Jay Leno: Jeff Bridges, Dianna Agron, Bobby Long
Jimmy Kimmel: Kim Kardashian, Balthazar Getty
Craig Ferguson: Matt LeBlanc, David Pogue
Jimmy Fallon: Dana Carvey, Minka Kelly, Ricky Martin
Carson Daly: Nate Corddry, Troupe Vertigo, Off!
Tavis Smiley: Gary Shapiro, David Pogue
Daily Show: Adm. Michael Mullen
Colbert Report: Jane McGonigal
Chelsea Lately: Jennifer Beals, Josh Wolf, Lavell Crawford, Heather McDonald
Conan O'Brien: Lisa Kudrow, Mike O'Malley, Interpol
Lopez Tonight: Billy Gardell, Rachel Bilson, OK Go
The View: Kate Walsh
The Talk: Jim Belushi, Marlee Matlin
Regis and Kelly: Justin Bieber
Ellen DeGeneres: Jennifer Aniston

Friday, February 4

Today: Keith Ablow

GMA: Chef Christina Ferrare

Early Show: Minka Kelly

David Letterman: Martha Stewart, a Top Ten List presented by Justin Bieber, Robert Plant

Jay Leno: Hugh Laurie, Hailee Steinfeld, Finesse Mitchell
Craig Ferguson: Matt Lucas
Jimmy Fallon: Kate Walsh, Rob Brydon
Carson Daly: T.J. Miller, J. Ralph, A Perfect Circle (R 12/14/10)
Tavis Smiley: Vusi Mahlasela, Melissa Leo
Chelsea Lately: Taraji P. Henson, Bobby Lee, Ross Mathews, Ben Gleib (R 1/27/11)
The View: Samuel L. Jackson, Tim Hasselbeck, Dr. Jerry Gliklich
The Talk: Jennifer Beals, Kathryn Joosten
Regis and Kelly: Bill Paxton, Justin Bieber
Ellen DeGeneres: Channing Tatum, Bethenny Frankel

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This Week in Talk Shows Dec 27-31

Monday, December 27
Early Show: Jerry Herman
GMA: Dan Lauria; photographer Joe McNally, the author of "LIFE Guide to Digital Photography."
Today Show: Skater Michael Weiss performs
David Letterman: Johnny Depp, Ra Ra Riot (R 12/7/10)
Jay Leno: Russell Brand, Chris Colfer, Jonny Lang with Brad Whitford, Billy Cox & Chris Layton (R 12/6/10)
Jimmy Kimmel: Mark Wahlberg, Beau Garrett, the Temper Trap (R 12/15/10)
Craig Ferguson: Mary Lynn Rajskub, Carl Edwards (R 10/8/10)
Jimmy Fallon: Bette Midler, Mario Batali, Rula Jebreal, Pegi Young & the Survivors (R 12/14/10)
Carson Daly: Mark Cuban, John Cameron Mitchell, Japandroids (R 11/16/10)
Tavis Smiley: Gordon Brown (R 12/13/10)
Daily Show: Pre-empted
Colbert Report: Pre-empted
Chelsea Lately: Natasha Bedingfield, Josh Wolf, Ben Gleib, Loni Love
Conan O'Brien: Tom Hanks, Jack McBrayer, Soundgarden (R 11/9/10)
Lopez Tonight: David Arquette, Ashley Greene, Billy the Exterminator (R 11/23/10)
The View: Justin Timberlake, Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Bill & Giuliana Rancic (R 10/1/10)
The Talk: Neil Patrick Harris (R 11/22/10)
Regis and Kelly: Cory Monteith, Sylvester Stallone, Jesse McCartney, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, Jenni "JWoww" Farley (R)
Ellen DeGeneres: Sofia Vergara, Justin Bieber, kid inventor Ethan Fisher (R 11/3/10)

Tuesday, December 28
Early Show: Paul McCartney
GMA: Retired Massachusetts judge Gordon A. Martin, the author of "Count Them One By One"
Today Show: Chef Michael White; Marcus Samuelsson
David Letterman: Jerry Seinfeld, Colin Firth (R 11/23/10)
Jay Leno: Taylor Swift, Dane Cook, Keri Hilson (R 11/22/10)
Jimmy Kimmel: Jeff Bridges, Diddy (R 12/16/10)
Craig Ferguson: Tom Selleck, Myq Kaplan (R 11/8/10)
Jimmy Fallon: Ben Stiller, The Miz, Annie Lennox (R 12/15/10)
Carson Daly: Michael Ian Black, the creators of "Yo Gabba Gabba", Menomena (R 11/18/10)
Tavis Smiley: Quincy Jones (R 12/3/10)
Daily Show: Pre-empted
Colbert Report: Pre-empted
Chelsea Lately: Diddy-Dirty Money, Brad Wollack, Whitney Cummings, Kevin Hart (R 12/20/10)
Conan O'Brien: Michael Cera, Julie Bowen, Jon Dore (R 11/11/10)
Lopez Tonight: Kris Jenner, Tom Felton, Ne-Yo (R 11/22/10)
The View: Victoria Beckham, Sunny Anderson (R 9/17/10)
The Talk: Jo Frost (R 12/7/10)
Regis and Kelly: Shia LaBeouf, Jon Hamm, Victoria Justice (R)
Ellen DeGeneres: Russell Crowe, Pink, Rascal Flatts (R 11/17/10)

Wednesday, December 29
Early Show: Justin Bieber; and author Gene Stone ("The Secrets of People Who Never Get Sick").
GMA: Author Mary Jane Clark
Today Show: Christy Jordan
David Letterman: Matt Damon, Florence and the Machine (R 12/16/10)
Jay Leno: Cher, Jeremy Renner, Robyn (R 11/24/10)
Jimmy Kimmel: Helen Mirren, Paul Bettany, Little Big Town (R 12/8/10)
Craig Ferguson: Danny DeVito, Brie Larson, Henry Cho (R 10/26/10)
Jimmy Fallon: Paul McCartney, Nick Cannon (R 12/9/10)
Carson Daly: Amir Bar-Lev, Brad Ludden, City and Colour (R 10/14/10)
Tavis Smiley: Sheryl Crow (R 9/9/10)
Daily Show: Pre-empted
Colbert Report: Pre-empted
Chelsea Lately: Keyshia Cole, Jo Koy, Jim Norton, Sarah Colonna
Conan O'Brien: Harrison Ford, Rosario Dawson, Reggie Watts (R 11/16/10)
Lopez Tonight: Dwayne Johnson, Katie Cassidy, Felipe Esparza (R 11/25/10)
The View: Dr. Timothy Johnson, Dr. Phil McGraw, Donatella Versace, Ken Jeong (R 11/5/10)
The Talk: Cindy McCain, Meghan McCain, Niecy Nash (R 10/28/10)
Regis and Kelly: Ben Affleck, Taylor Swift (R)
Ellen DeGeneres: James Franco, Mario Lopez, Darius & Demetrice Gillespie (R 11/5/10)

Thursday, December 30
Early Show: Matt Damon
GMA: Jamie Foxx performs; Ryan Seacrest previews ABC's "New Year's Rockin' Eve"
Today Show: Chef Rock Harper
David Letterman: Ray Romano, John Mellencamp (R 12/6/10)
Jay Leno: Jack Black, Michael Buble (R 12/14/10)
Jimmy Kimmel: John Krasinski, Rosemarie DeWitt, Crystal Castles (R 12/9/10)
Craig Ferguson: Dick Van Dyke, Kerry Washington (R 11/4/10)
Jimmy Fallon: Scarlett Johansson, Chris Morris, Toots and the Maytals (R 11/8/10)
Carson Daly: Chloe Moretz, the Asylum, Los Campesinos! (R 10/1/10)
Tavis Smiley: Norah Jones (R 8/31/10)
Daily Show: Pre-empted
Colbert Report: Pre-empted
Chelsea Lately: Reese Witherspoon, Jo Koy, Chris Franjola, Chris Hardwick (R 12/21/10)
Conan O'Brien: Russell Brand, Susan Casey, the 88 (R 11/17/10)
Lopez Tonight: Howie Mandel, Juliette Lewis, K.T. Tunstall (R 11/10/10)
The View: Kirsten Dunst, Dr. Lindsey Duncan, Kris Jenner, Badgley Mischka (R 12/3/10)
The Talk: Kathy Griffin (R 11/2/10)
Regis and Kelly: Robert Downey Jr., Kristen Stewart, Jim Parsons (R)
Ellen DeGeneres: Halle Berry, Josh Groban (R 11/15/10)

Friday, December 31
Early Show: N/A
GMA: N/A
Today Show: Carson Daly
David Letterman: Jay-Z, Jamie Oliver, Rihanna (R 11/16/10)
Jay Leno: Louis C.K., Aron Ralston, Josh Turner (R 12/3/10)
Jimmy Kimmel: Pre-empted
Craig Ferguson: Michael Caine (R 10/28/10)
Jimmy Fallon: Kirsten Dunst, Dee Snider, Maroon 5 (R 12/10/10)
Carson Daly: Steve-O, Freddie Wong, Nas & Damian Marley (R 9/21/10)
Tavis Smiley: Amy Adams, Kevin Spacey (R 12/15/10)
Chelsea Lately: Keyshia Cole, Jo Koy, Jim Norton, Sarah Colonna (R 12/29/10)
The View: David Letterman (R 9/7/10)
The Talk: Pre-empted
Regis and Kelly: 2010 Farewell Special: A Year In Review
Ellen DeGeneres: Madonna, Kate Walsh (R 11/9/10)

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Musicians go social with Billboard's "Social 50" chart

Both Rihanna and Eminem make Billboard's "Social 50"

Recognizing this, Billboard put out their first "Social 50" music chart last week which ranks the most active artists on the world's leading social networking sites. The chart tallies artists' popularity using a formula blending their weekly additions of friends/fans/followers, along with weekly artist page views and weekly song plays on MySpace, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and iLike. Take a look at this week's top "Social 50."

Brands should advantage of the new chart (and other SM metrics) when considering talent for programs.

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This Week in Talk Shows Nov 22-26

Monday, November 22
GMA: Self-help author Dan Buettner, Emeril Lagasse
Early Show: Jessica Simpson
Today Show: Bruno Mars
The Talk: Neil Patrick Harris
David Letterman: Natalie Portman, Jay Pharaoh, Jessica Simpson
Jay Leno: Dane Cook, Taylor Swift, Keri Hilson
Jimmy Kimmel: Billy Bob Thornton, Stana Katic, Train
Craig Ferguson: Ben Stein, Dr. Lisa Masterson, the Very Best
Jimmy Fallon: David Hyde Pierce, Bobby Flay
Carson Daly: Ben Nemtin & Duncan Penn, Seth Gordon, Villagers (R 10/28/10)
Tavis Smiley: Condoleezza Rice (R 10/13/10)
Daily Show: President Barack Obama (R 10/27/10)
Colbert Report: Martha Stewart (R 11/10/10)
Chelsea Lately: Single security guards, John Caparulo, Arden Myrin, Ryan Stout
Conan O'Brien: Christina Aguilera, Zachary Levi
Lopez Tonight: Tom Felton, Ne-Yo
The View: Mike Huckabee, Beyonce, Tina Knowles
The Talk: Neil Patrick Harris
Regis and Kelly: Steve Martin, Scott Caan, Sarah McLachlan
Ellen DeGeneres: Justin Timberlake, Graeme Taylor

Tuesday, November 23
GMA: India.Arie, Lee Major, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Emeril Lagasse
Today Show: Giada De Laurentiis, Dr. Roshini Raj, Susan Boyle
The Talk: Amy Yasbeck
David Letterman: Jerry Seinfeld, Colin Firth
Jay Leno: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Eubanks
Jimmy Kimmel: Dominic Monaghan, the winner of "Dancing with the Stars", Ke$ha
Craig Ferguson: Mark Ruffalo, Kathryn Hahn, Wendy Liebman
Jimmy Fallon: Jessica Simpson, Gov. Chris Christie, Regina Spektor
Carson Daly: Johnny Knoxville, Nathan Barr, Off! (R 10/15/10)
Tavis Smiley: Jimmy Carter (R 10/25/10)
Daily Show: Jay-Z (R 11/17/10)
Colbert Report: Cee-Lo Green (R 11/9/10)
Chelsea Lately: Dane Cook, Jo Koy, Kevin Hart, Ben Gleib
Conan O'Brien: Christina Applegate, Patton Oswalt, Maroon 5
Lopez Tonight: David Arquette, Ashley Greene, Billy the Exterminator
The View: Cynthia McFadden, Doris Roberts
The Talk: Amy Yasbeck
Regis and Kelly: Jessica Simpson, Cloris Leachman
Ellen DeGeneres: Eric Stonestreet, Bon Jovi

Wednesday, November 24
GMA: Jennifer Grey, Kyle Massey and Bristol Palin
Early Show: Jake Gyllenhaal, chef Marcus Samuelsson
Today Show: Colin Firth, Giada De Laurentiis, Kings of Leon
The Talk: Melissa Gilbert, Apolo Ohno
David Letterman: Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta, Sahara Smith
Jay Leno: Cher, Jeremy Renner, Robyn
Jimmy Kimmel: Paris Hilton, Dave Salmoni, Metric
Craig Ferguson: Dwayne Johnson, Paula Deen
Jimmy Fallon: Colin Firth, Terrell Owens, Chad Ochocinco, N.E.R.D.
Carson Daly: Amir Bar-Lev, Brad Ludden, City and Colour (R 10/14/10)
Tavis Smiley: Rerun TBA
Daily Show: Harrison Ford (R 11/9/10)
Colbert Report: John Legend (R 11/16/10)
Chelsea Lately: Taylor Swift, Loni Love, Gary Valentine, Brad Wollack
Conan O'Brien: Eva Mendes, Bob Saget, Neon Trees
Lopez Tonight: Billy Bob Thornton, Ice Cube
The View: Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, Deborah Mullen, the "Dancing With the Stars" winner and runners-up
The Talk: Apolo Anton Ohno, Melissa Gilbert
Regis and Kelly: Colin Firth, Michael Eisner, Elton John & Leon Russell
Ellen DeGeneres: Dwayne Johnson

Thursday, November 25
GMA: Beyoncé, chef Sara Moulton
Today Show: Martha Stewart
David Letterman: Taylor Swift, Seth Meyers (R 10/26/10)
Jay Leno: Elizabeth Banks, Marjorie Johnson, Carrot Top
Jimmy Kimmel: Patrick Dempsey, Armie Hammer, Nelly (R 11/17/10)
Craig Ferguson: Condoleezza Rice, Joe Theismann (R 10/25/10)
Jimmy Fallon: Bill Hader, Victoria Justice, James Otto & Ronnie Milsap
Carson Daly: Zane Lamprey, performances from "Celebrity Autobiography", Lissie (R 10/13/10)
Tavis Smiley: Peter Yarrow, Noel "Paul" Stookey (R 10/29/10)
Daily Show: Pre-empted
Colbert Report: Pre-empted
Chelsea Lately: Monica Potter, Josh Wolf, Greg Proops (R 11/15/10)
Conan O'Brien: Jim Parsons, Marisa Miller, Brendon Walsh
Lopez Tonight: Dwayne Johnson, Katie Cassidy
The View: "How to Get Stuff for Free" theme show (R 11/10/10)
The Talk: Pre-empted
Regis and Kelly: Nicolas Cage, Dolly Parton, Vern Yip (R)
Ellen DeGeneres: LL Cool J, Maura Tierney (R 9/27/10)

Friday, November 26
GMA: Emeril Lagasse
Today Show: Justin Bieber
David Letterman: Denzel Washington, Bon Jovi (R 11/9/10)
Jay Leno: Anne Hathaway, San Francisco Giant Brian Wilson, Aaron Neville (R 11/4/10)
Jimmy Kimmel: Mandy Moore, John Quinones, Atomic Tom (R 10/28/10)
Craig Ferguson: Juliette Lewis, Cornel West (R 11/5/10)
Carson Daly: Jim Breuer, Black Dub, She & Him (R 10/26/10)
Tavis Smiley: Joseph Wilson, Valerie Plame Wilson (R 10/26/10)
Chelsea Lately: Animal expert Donald Schultz, Bobby Lee, Whitney Cummings, Ross Mathews
The View: Black Friday theme show
The Talk: Pre-empted
Regis and Kelly: Billy Bob Thornton, Paul Shaffer
Ellen DeGeneres: Heidi Klum

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The American Music Awards 2010: America’s Vote

The 2010 American Music Awards are airing live from the NOKIA Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday, November 21 at 8PM ET on ABC. The night promises to be entertaining thanks to performances from Bon Jovi, Pink, Usher, Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Carlos Santana w/ Gavin Rossdale, Backstreet Boys & New Kids on the Block, Rihanna, Diddy-Dirty Money, Ne-Yo, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Kesha and Christina Aguilera.

The American Music Awards are unique in its focus on fan participation for voting. All winners are determined online at www.amavote.com/. Fans can choose from stars like Eminem, Lady Antebellum and Justin Bieber, all of whom received four nominations or more. Other notables on the list of 41 nominees are B.o.B., Usher, Katy Perry, Kesha, Lady Gaga, Travie McCoy, Jason Aldean and Mike Posner.

To give you a better idea of the marketability of these artists, here’s a glimpse at the past and present sponsorships of the Artist of the Year nominees:

Justin Bieber

Bieber Fever seems to be a prolonged virus, with Bieber receiving four nominations including Artist of the Year and Breakthrough Artist of the Year. In August, Bieber joined the star-studded cast of Proactiv spokespersons, a group that includes fellow Artist of the Year nominee, Katy Perry. His commercial drove 500,000 visits to Proactiv’s website on the first day alone. In his first foray into the cosmetics world, Bieber has created a fragrance called “My World” that he will infuse into dog tags and wristbands, and will maintain a lasting scent for up to a year. These fragrance laced accessories will be available on Black Friday (November 26^th).  Capitalizing even further on his female fan base, Bieber announced recently that he will create a nail polish line with Nicole by OPI. The polishes will be named with taglines such as “One Less Lonely Girl” and “OMB!”, and will be introduced in December. They will be marketed to tweens as the perfect shades for the next school dance.  His teenage boy side not to be forgotten, Bieber promoted the Xbox Kinect on his My World Tour in August by showing the audience a video of him testing out the technology backstage.

Eminem

Tied with Lady Antebellum for the most nominations this year and rolling off of his VMA for “Best Male Video,” Eminem has once again emerged as a dominant player in America’s music scene. Notorious for resisting endorsements, Eminem has lent his name to very few brands over the years. His song “Lose Yourself” was featured in an iTunes commercial in 2006, and he endorses Nike and Red Bull, though in an unconventional manner. He collaborated with Nike for the “Nike Air Max Charity Project” in 2006 to create a special edition shoe to be auctioned off to benefit his Marshall Mathers Foundation. He also designed limited edition shoes for Nike’s Air Jordan brand in 2008 by adorning them with his lyrics. Proceeds were once again donated to the Marshall Mathers Foundation. As for Red Bull, he makes mention of his penchant for the brand in his song “Old Time’s Sake.”

Kesha

Kesha’s hit “Tik Tok” broke the record in the United States for the highest single week sales ever by a female artist. Fresh off of the announcement of her first North American headlining tour, the “Get Sleazy” tour, Kesha is going into the AMAs with three nominations and an endorsement deal with Casio watches reportedly worth 3 million dollars. In addition to being the new face of the brand, she will be designing two watches that are slated to be introduced to the market next summer.

Lady Gaga

Earlier this year, Lady Gaga received 13 VMA nominations and won 5 Moon Men, including Best Video of the Year. On the brand front, Lady Gaga is no stranger to the endorsement game, having featured at least ten brands in her “Telephone” music video. Wonderbread enjoyed publicity free of charge while Miracle Whip and Polaroid chose to compensate Gaga for her consideration. Polaroid took their support one step further by offering Gaga the position of creative director and a stake in the company. As a part of her new post, Gaga will be designing a camera set to be released in early 2011.  Drawing on her flare for the artistic, Gaga teamed up with MAC Cosmetics, and pop icon Cyndi Lauper, to promote the brand’s Viva Glam product line. Gaga has also lent her creative touch to Monster’s “Heartbeats In-Ear Headphones” that were released in Best Buy stores in October. Fans and consumers can also be on the lookout for her signature fragrance from Coty Inc, due out on 2012.  

Katy Perry

Teenage Dream Katy Perry has been vocal about her judgment of starlets who readily endorse products, but is starting to lend her talents to an array of brands. The pop-singer has an endorsement deal with Proactiv, and has performed at the launches of Windows Phone 7 and Volkswagen’s World Premiere of their new 2011 Compact SedanPerry recently launched her new fragrance, Purr, exclusively for Nordstrom. And, she performed at the taping of Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2010 which will air on November 30 on CBS.