Octagon First Call

We have been waiting for a retailer to use some of DWTS‘ professional dancers in a TV advertising campaign. They would not be expensive and their faces are very recognizable (i.e. 20 million viewers, 20 times each spring and fall). So it was not surprising to see Jared The Galleria of Jewelry use Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Edyta Sliwinska, Alec Mazo and Shalene Archer Ermis in a new spot as competitors in a championship ballroom dance setting.

The Golf Channel premieres Fore Inventors Only tonight at 10:00 p.m. EST. As described in their print advertising campaign, the show is about watching “how far some are willing to go as we seek to uncover America’s next big golf invention.” The concept is a clever spin-off of the network reality show American Inventor. For more, check out www.thegolfchannel.com.

Keep an eye out for this show - Rapping with the Stars.

We waited a week to post the new Dancing with the Stars contestants because we wanted to see who would get the early buzz. Not only has Heather taken the honor, she is the only one people are talking about. Similar to American Idol, some of the show’s previous contestants have revitalized or taken their career to all new heights - George Hamilton, Mario Lopez, John O’Hurley, Lisa Rinna and Emmitt Smith to name a few. Olympic gold medallist Apolo Anton Ohno may have the most to gain from the show. He is actively pursuing a movie career and will also be competing again in the 2010 Olympics (another platform for marketers to use his likeness). This year’s lineup includes Ohno, Mills, Laila Ali, Clyde Drexler, Billy Ray Cyrus, Joey Fatone, Vincent Pastore, Ian Ziering, Leeza Gibbons, Paulina Porizkova and Shandi Finnessey.

Check out www.celebtv.com, the latest entertainment news program to launch. It is hosted by CBS’ Survivor winner Danni Boatwright (Guatemala 2005) and solely web-based. Danni is another example of the staying power of certain reality stars and the power of network TV. As their site says, CelebTV.com is real-time entertainment video news distributed exclusively on broadband and mobile channels. Once the female-targeted site hits critical mass, it will be a great place for brands to place celebrity/corporate partnership stories. PS - How was the url www.celebtv.com still available in 2007?