Random House has signed on as the first task sponsor of NBC’s anticipated The Apprentice: Martha Stewart, with a team of marketers following close behind, according to a show spokesman.
Similar to the original Apprentice starring Donald Trump, the Martha Stewart version puts 16 candidates through a weekly job interview and challenges until one remains to win a job at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. The Apprentice: Martha Stewart premieres at 8 p.m. ET Sept. 21.
Other brand sponsors that will be featured in the new series include Starwood Hotels, Song Airlines and GM’s Buick, the spokesman confirmed.
And if the brand sponsorships are anything like those featured on Trump’s Apprentice, marketers may find a new place to tout their products.
Last year, GM ran a successful campaign unveiling its new Pontiac Solstice on The Apprentice (PROMO Xtra April 19). One thousand people pre-ordered the car within 41 minutes after the show aired.
In the first Apprentice: Martha Stewart episode, two teams will be charged with updating fairytale classics Jack and The Beanstalk and Hansel and Gretel, making stories relevant to today’s children. While working alongside Random House executives, candidates will re-write and re-illustrate each tale and read their finished product to a class of first-graders.
Unlike Trump, Stewart will not use the catch phrase “Your Fired” to dismiss her contestants. Stewart instead has developed her own catchphrase”You just don’t fit in,” according to news reports. NBC, however, has denied the reports.
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