ABC is prodding “Dancing with the Stars” viewers to make their own calls by packaging a set of judge’s paddles with scorecards with next week’s issue of TV Guide.
Approximately 100,000 subscribers in New York and Los Angeles will receive the ABC-branded paddles with copies of TV Guide’s “Returning Favorites” Sept. 15 issue. The gold and red paddles, numbered 1-10, feature photos of couples who’ve appeared on the show, along with “Fun Facts” about the dance competition series now entering its seventh season.
One of the facts, Fact #9 is: 31 pounds: most weight lost by a star in a single season.
Two Olympic gold medalists, beach volleyballer Misty-May Treanor and Maurice Green, who won the men’s 100-meter race at the 2000 Sydney summer games, will be among the 13 couples competing when the “Dancing” season starts on Sept. 22. Multi-Grammy Award winner Toni Braxton, former National Football League defensive lineman Warren Sapp, reality TV star Kim Kardashian and actresses Cloris Leachman and Susan Lucci are among the other competitors slated to appear in the series’ special three-night premiere run.
The paddles packaged with the weekly TV magazine are intended to pump up interest in the triple feature that will see two couples eliminated from the competition in two successive nights.
“We thought it was really a fun, interactive way to engage the viewers,” said Marla Provencio, ABC executive vice president.
Viewership has slipped a bit for the series, which is a fall and mid-season entry for the network. “Usually in fall it comes back very, very strong, so we’re hoping for the best,” Provencio said.
The core audience for “Dancing” is women aged 18-49, but Provencio said the objective with the TV Guide promotion is to hit a broad audience.
The mix of acting, musical and sports talent is obviously intended to spark crossover appeal. ABC is airing TV spots featuring Sapp during NFL games on ESPN and Lucci during daytime programming, and one featuring Sapp, Treanor and Green in the run-up to the season premiere.
A viral Web campaign with a tabloid twist will launch this week as well.
The paddle play recalls two other, similar ABC ploys with TV Guide. Last September, life-sized blue paper hospital gowns were sent with the magazine to plug “Grey’s Anatomy,” and last March, pocket-sized tissue packets promoted ABC’s “Feel Good Sunday” lineup with “Oprah’s Big Give” and “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”
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