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NEW YORK – Wednesday February 18, 2009 – Once again, Donald Trump, NBC and Mark Burnett have partnered with some of the world’s prominent and most recognizable brands as NBC’s “The Celebrity Apprentice” returns for another star-studded season on Sunday, March 1 (9-11 p.m. ET/PT).
Mark Burnett Productions was ahead of its time by being one of the first production companies to use product integration on television. This year, “The Celebrity Apprentice” does not disappoint when it welcomes ACN, All Small & Mighty, Chicken of the Sea, Kodak, Lifelock, Right Guard, Schwan’s and Zappo’s.
“More than 100 sponsors have appeared on The Apprentice over the past seven seasons and all have benefited by greatly increased brand awareness and remarkable sales growth” says Donald Trump. “For our eighth season, we welcome the most diverse group of sponsors ever- all brand leaders in their category. I expect explosive business results for all of them.”
Donald Trump and his children, Ivanka and Don Jr., won’t be the only familiar faces on this seasons’ “Celebrity Apprentice”. We’ve upped the ante with 16 celebrities who will duke it out as they raise millions for their various charities throughout the season. Celebrity contestants include Clint Black, Andrew Dice Clay, Annie Duke, Tom Green, Natalie Gulbis, Scott Hamilton, Jesse James, Claudia Jordan, Khloe Kardashian, Brian McKnight, Joan Rivers, Melissa Rivers, Brande Roderick, Dennis Rodman, Herschel Walker and Tionne Watkins.
Just as you’ve come to expect from “The Celebrity Apprentice”, this season’s crop of celebrities will be faced with arduous hours and intense tasks. From baking and selling cupcakes on the streets of Manhattan to creating a “red carpet moment” promoting Kodak’s digital picture frames, from running an actual New York City hotel to creating an in-store display for LifeLock, the celebrities will have to successfully work with these enormously popular (and decision making) sponsors in hopes of staying out of the now famous boardroom. Being famous doesn’t mean you can’t be fired.
In the past seasons, many of our “Apprentice” partners have achieved astonishing sales results in the days and weeks following the broadcast of their episodes. When Crest Vanilla Mint toothpaste was featured during season two, Procter & Gamble experienced the highest level of online interest in company history with 4.7 million web hits the day after the show aired. Over 40,000 samples of toothpaste were requested. On season three, Staples sold out of “The Desk Apprentice” in the first two hours of store openings and, most notably, Pontiac sold 1,000 Solstice cars in a mere 41 minutes after their episode concluded. In season five, Ace Hardware stores notched a retail sales increase of 13 percent in the week following their episode.
In “Apprentice” history, many of America ’s largest and most successful companies have eagerly chosen to showcase their products during the tasks. Over the years, these have included General Motors, Unilever, Pepsi, M&M Mars, Lexus, Star Wars, Procter & Gamble, Microsoft, Outback Steakhouse, Priceline.com, Dove, Dairy Queen, Burger King, Domino’s Pizza, Best Buy, The Dial Corporation and Vera Wang by Serta.
About Mark Burnett Productions
Mark Burnett Productions is a leading production company for primetime television, cable and the internet, and has produced over 1,100 hours of television programming which regularly airs in over 70 countries around the world. Mark Burnett (President of MBP) revolutionized television with hits such as Survivor (CBS), The Apprentice (NBC), The Contender (ESPN), Rock Star (CBS), the Steven Spielberg co-production On The Lot (FOX), the smash hit Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (FOX), which is currently being produced in 52 countries and the daytime syndicated hit Martha (currently in its 4th season). In the summers of 2007 and 2008, MBP entered the world of Award Shows, when Mark Burnett served as executive producer for the MTV Movie Awards. In October of 2007, MBP opened Mark Burnett Productions Asia; a joint venture with Genting International to both create new content for and adapt established formats in the Asian market. Since 2001, MBP has garnered a total of 51 Emmy nominations with 5 wins, and has won 4 People¹s Choice Awards. Mark Burnett has been named one of the most influential people in the world by TIME magazine and named TV Guide¹s most valuable player. He has won both BRANDWEEK’S Marketer of the Year Award and the prestigious ROSE D’OR FRAPA Format Award. In 2007, Mark Burnett was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame. In 2008, Mark was honored with the announcement that he is to receive a star on the Hollywood walk of fame. This year will continue with new shows for MBP, including Toughest Cowboy (SPIKE), Star Maker (MTV), Wedding Day (TNT), Bully Beatdown (MTV), How’d You Get So Rich? (TV Land), Expedition (History Channel), pilots with FOX, ABC and CBS as well as Survivor 18, Contender 4, Martha syndicated 4, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader 3 and Apprentice 8.
About “The Celebrity Apprentice”
"The Apprentice" is produced by Mark Burnett Productions in association with Trump Productions LLC. Mark Burnett, Donald Trump, Page Feldman and Eden Gaha are executive producers.
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