Ark Music Factory’s New Star, Lexi St. George, Signs Deal

Ark Music Factory has announced that its newest star, Lexi St. George, will appear in TV ads for WowWee’s Paper Jamz Pro Jam Series Microphone. The ads will feature St. George and her debut single and video “Dancing to the Rhythm.”

The Paper Jamz Pro Series Microphone helps kids sing like a pro by allowing them to transfer their favorite songs onto the microphone, and letting them adjust to their “perfect pitch” with chorus, harmony, vibrato and other vocal controls. The microphone is $29.99 and available at Wal-Mart, with distribution in Target, Toys “R” Us, and KMart later this month.

New KISS Models Bring Destroyer Album Cover to Life

Round 2 is celebrating the 35th anniversary of the KISS album Destroyer by creating model kits based on the album’s cover art. The kits are pre-painted in minute detail, from the iconic black-and-white makeup to the traditional hairstyles and monstrously tall platform boots. Fully assembled on the base, each figure—Starchild, Demon, Spaceman, and Catman—stands nearly a foot tall.

Each kit is packaged with one of four mini posters, which, when assembled together, form a 2.5-by-2.5 foot poster of the Destroyer album art.

The deal was brokered by Live Nation, KISS’ worldwide licensing agent. For information on Live Nation licensing, email Steve Senk, VP of Licensing, at stevesenk@livenation.com, and visit Live Nation licensing online.

CBS Reveals Exclusive Merchandise at Comic-Con

CBS Consumer Products announced that it will debut new products for Star Trek, CSI, NCIS, Dexter, Charmed, Cheers, and The Twilight Zone, at San Diego Comic-Con, beginning July 21.

Star Trek is annually one of Comic-Con’s biggest draws, and will have 11 licensees on hand exhibiting products, including Diamond Comics (Booth #2607), which will show Star Trek Mr. Potato Heads from PPW featuring characters from The Original Series. At the CBS booth (#4129), StarTrek.com will offer free limited-edition Enterprise Bottle Opener Keychains and wristbands to fans.

New Willy Wonka Contest for 40th Anniversary DVD Release

Warner Home Video will release a special 40th anniversary edition of Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, complete with a Wonka Bar and Golden Ticket Instant Win Piece for a chance to enter and win a trip for two to Los Angeles.

The three-disc Ultimate Collector’s Edition Blu-Ray/DVD combo will cost $64.99, while a single-DVD version will retail for $12.97. The film will be available On Demand and through online retailers including Amazon on Demand and iTunes.

The releases will come in October, no matter how much Veruca wants them now.

—Charlie Bucket

CBS Consumer Products is set to bring some of the most popular Showtime programs to retail this year, including Dexter, Weeds, Nurse Jackie, The L Word, and The Tudors. The line of licensed merchandise will include posters, kitchenware, clothing and greeting cards. New licensed products from Showtime will soon be available at retail stores around the world.

ThinkGeek will create glassware, coasters and aprons based on Dexter; Jerry Leigh will create men’s apparel based on Californication, Showtime Championship Boxing, Dexter, Nurse Jackie, The L Word, The Real L Word, The Tudors and Weeds; Global Prints will create Weeds posters, art prints and postcards; MusicSkins will offer Californication, Dexter, Nurse Jackie, The L Word, The Tudors and Weeds vinyl skins; Culturenik will produce Dexter giftware; NobleWorks will produce Weeds greeting cards; Rizzoli Calendars will offer Dexter and The Tudors calendars; and Hallmark will create Dexter greeting cards.

Ubisoft and CBS Consumer Products are bringing the world’s most watched television drama—CSI: Crime Scene Investigation—to Facebook through an innovative watch and win cross promotion for the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Crime City social game.

Starting with the Thursday, February 3rd broadcast of CSI on CBS, players of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Crime City will be able to watch episodes and obtain clues that will unlock special bonuses in the game. The month-long promotion marks an unprecedented collaboration between a primetime series and social game developer, allowing Ubisoft to drive viewers during sweeps month while enhancing gameplay.

The promotion will debut in episode #1113 titled “The Two Mrs. Grissoms.”  Leading up to its premiere and future episodes, players will be provided a question on the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Crime City Facebook page that can only be answered by watching that week’s episode of the series. When retrieved, answers will unlock free UbiCredits that provide energy points in the game.

CBS Consumer Products is expanding the reach of its Television City banner in 2011 with new merchandising deals for TV properties including The Beverly Hillbillies, Dynasty, Twilight Zone, Brandy Bunch, Happy Days, and Cheers.

Here’s a breakdown:

518 Apparel will make apparel and loungewear based on 7th Heaven, The Andy Griffith Show, The Beverly Hillbillies, Beverly Hills 90210, Brady Bunch, Cheers, Dynasty, Family Affair, Gunsmoke, Happy Days, Hogan’s Heroes, Laverne & Shirley, Little Rascals, Melrose Place, Mighty Mouse, Mod Squad, Mork & Mindy, My Three Sons, Rawhide, Solid Gold, and Taxi.

Mattel will produce Barbies based on Elly Mau Clampett from The Beverly Hillbillies, and Alexis Colby and Krystle Carrington from Dynasty.

Bif Bang Pow will manufacture gifts and collectibles based on Twilight Zone.

Dynomighty will produce wallets based on Brady Bunch, Cheers, Happy Days, Mighty Mouse, Mork & Mindy and Taxi.

Mad Engine will introduce t-shirts based on The Beverly Hillbillies, Beverly Hills 90210, Brady Bunch, Brady Kids: The Animated Series, Cheers, Fonz and the Happy Days Gang (Animated), Gunsmoke, Happy Days, Have Gun Will Travel, Love Boat, Melrose Place, Mighty Mouse, Mork & Mindy, Mork & Mindy (Animated), Rawhide, Taxi, Twilight Zone, Twin Peaks, Walker Texas Ranger and Wild Wild West.

Westland will manufacture gift items based on Brady Bunch, Cheers, Happy Days and The Little Rascals.

America’s Next Top Model? How about the world?

Some of the beauty industry’s biggest names are lining up to bring Next Top Model to international retailers through a slate of new promotional agreements with CBS Consumer Products. Cover Girl, Nivea, Tresemme and Revlon are just a few who will walk down the runway with the brand in Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and the United Kingdom.  The campaigns will coincide with the broadcast windows of localized versions for the series.

“Next Top Model is in fashion all across the globe and we are privileged to team up with these world class brands,” said Liz Kalodner, Executive Vice President and General Manager of CBS Consumer Products. “These promotions augment licensed product in expanding our retail presence.”

CBS Consumer Products has lined up five licensees in the United Kingdom for promotional campaigns utilizing the Next Top Model brand including Revlon, Casio, Galaxy Ripple, Asos.com and Isklar. The campaigns will comprise both in-store promotional materials and online support.

Lots of properties have fans. Lots of properties have licensed stuff. But every once in awhile, there comes a property that evolves from a brand into a living, ever-changing, sentient being, whose fans become a whole ‘nother species.

One such property is Star Trek. The brand has gone from a TV show to movies to licensed products, then moved on from there to live conventions, costume contests, and so much more—it’s a lifestyle. Like the brand itself, the fans have evolved into a culture of their own, set apart from fans of other properties because of their passion, their fervor, their creativity, and their desire for total immersion.

It is with this in mind that CBS Consumer Products today re-launched www.StarTrek.com, the online destination that brings the brand and its fans together. “StarTrek.com aims to embrace all of fandom and to be as interactive as possible,” reads an article posted on the site, about the site. The site will strive to reach that goal through exclusive celebrity interviews, guest bloggers, breaking news, an online store, biographies, pictures, the inside scoop on events, conventions, live shows, and more.

To check out the site for yourself, and read the complete article introducing the re-launch, click here.

–Jennifer Sinclair Ringler

CBS Consumer Products and women’s contemporary specialty store retailer bebe stores, inc. will introduce a branded clothing line, ‘bebe for 90210,’ based on CBS Television Studios’ 90210 television series for The CW.

The apparel partnership program represents an unprecedented collaboration between producers and wardrobe stylists from the show and bebe’s creative design team. The line will be introduced simultaneously on-air for viewers and in-stores for consumers. The new line will launch in conjunction with new episodes of the series’ third season this fall and will include styles worn by various characters in the show along with products inspired by the series.

The apparel program will consist of four collections annually including dresses, tops, bottoms, and accessories, which will be available in a variety of fabrics and colors. The CW and bebe will support the new line with an integrated marketing campaign along with in-store signage and key positioning within bebe stores. The collection will be available for sale exclusively in select bebe stores nationwide as well as online.

CBS Consumer Products Teams with CafePress CBS Consumer Products and CafePress, which specializes in user-designed apparel and gifts, have signed a worldwide licensing agreement that allows TV fans to design and sell authorized show merchandise from CBS’s television library of more than 180 shows. Based on an extensive portfolio of properties that range from current primetime hits including the CSI and NCIS franchises, Survivor, and 90210—to classic shows under the Television City licensing banner such as Twilight Zone, Brady Bunch, and Jericho—the partnership will allow consumers to customize their own apparel, drinkware, hoseware, and stationery/office products. The deal also includes the Star Trek franchise as well as the upcoming feature film, Beastly, from CBS Films.

Products will be available on Cafepress.com in late summer. Merchandise in the apparel category will include T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, tank tops, underwear, hats/caps, baby bodysuits, and bags and totes. In the stationery/office category, consumers will find a wide range of posters, stickers, buttons, magnets, mouse pads, calendars, journals, and greeting cards. Household items will include aprons, clocks, coasters, license plate frames, and drinkware products such as mugs and water bottles.

Star Trek Live, a new interactive stage show from CBS Consumer Products and Mad Science Productions, will make its worldwide debut at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida on June 11.

Based on the science-fiction franchise, the show takes audiences on a 30-minute journey and theatrical experience for all ages. The show combines special effects, audience interaction, and an exploration of real space-age technology.

In the show, the audience portrays new Starfleet cadets assembled for the first day at the Starfleet Academy led by its best and brightest. The new cadets will have to learn quickly the intricacies of living and working in space, modern space travel, and the latest in communication and technology.

“Star Trek Live could not have found a better home for its world debut,” says Mad Science Productions Managing Director and Star Trek Live Producer Leonard Lipes. “Based on the storyline and the fiction-to-reality show concept, both NASA and the Visitor Complex were clearly our first choice of partners for this co-branding opportunity allowing visitors to follow in the footsteps of Star Trek’s iconic characters, to boldly go where no one has gone before.”

Star Trek Live will be presented five times a day at Kennedy Space Center’s 300-seat Astronaut Encounter Theater. The show will be open daily and is included with regular admission.