Jennifer Lopez may be the most powerful Hispanic in the entertainment business. Selling more than 75 million records and appearing in films that have grossed more than $2 billion can do that for a person. Recently, J.Lo has been taking her star power over to the business world. 

Her latest title is as the majority owner of a new chain of 15 cell phone stores aimed directly at Latinos, Variety reports. Viva Movil will sell Verizon phones and services, with the first retail outpost opening in New York on June 15.

Other cities with large Latino populations will follow after that. This isn't just another brand ambassador gig for Lopez; she’s the majority owner and chief creative officer. No stranger to cozying up to brands, Lopez will be even busier than usual as she also signed on as chief creative officer of Nuvo TV, a new English-language TV network targeted at U.S. Latinos in addition to continuing her clothing line for Kohl's.Continue reading...

When it comes to headphones, it’s all about whose head they're sitting on. Last summer at the Olympic Games in London, plenty of companies shelled out millions to be official sponsors, but one that didn’t bother was likely the biggest winner. Beats by Dre headphones kept getting airtime on international TV as athlete after athlete seemed to be sporting them.

These days, the business started by one of the world’s most influential—and richest—rappers, Dr. Dre. is commanding top billing among audio equipment providers. Dre is sitting extra pretty after HTC bought a 51 percent stake in the company in 2011 to the tune of a reported $100 million. (HTC later sold back 25 percent to Dre and co-founder Jimmy Iovine for $125 million.)Continue reading...

Guns, sure. But what about knives? Ted Nugent is coming to the rescue of knife owner rights.

The controversial rocker has teamed with gunmaker Wilson Combat to release a special edition Nugent-signature model 1911 handgun, sales of which will benefit the Knife Rights. It's just what the doctor ordered… if by doctor, you mean people who own knives and like handguns.

With the recent highly-publicized knife attack on a Texas campus spurring both jokes and serious talk about "knife control," the Nugent partnership might be perfectly timed.Continue reading...

It's pretty clear from the L'Oreal Paris teaser spot above that the brand's next celebrity face Gwen Stefani. The singer/designer's hiring was just confirmed in a follow-up commercial, after the jump.Continue reading...

Tiger Woods may have closed 2010 as the most polarizing figure in golf (if not all sports). But Rush Limbaugh might open the new year by taking Tiger’s place.

Radio-talk king Limbaugh — beloved by conservatives, vilified by the Left, and a curiosity to just about everyone — will be laying bare his golf game beginning Tuesday night on the Golf Channel, as the latest celebrity to become part of The Haney Project.

The idea of the series is that Hank Haney, who teaches the pros to play, tries to take the golf game of some middling but well-intended amateur to a much higher plane.Continue reading...

Late last year marathon world record holder Haile Gebrselassie signed a one-year contract worth $100000 to endorse Johnnie Walker whiskey.

The Ethiopian 27-time world running champ doesn't mention the brand, which isn't shown, and doesn't take a drink in the spot (see a making of after the jump) — instead, in keeping with the Diageo-owned brand's other Walk With Giants profiles, he talks about what drives him to compete and excel.Continue reading...

What a kerfuffle a year-end promo can make. L'Oreal's recent new year promo, above, sparked rumors that it was replacing global brand ambassador Aishwarya Rai, the Bollywood actress and former Miss World, with younger Indian actress/model Freida Pinto, who rose to fame in the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire.

Perish the thought, per this statement by the cosmetics giant: 

"We are shocked and surprised to read in some sections of the media/press about Ms. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan being replaced as the face of L'Oreal Paris... Ms. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan continues to be our valued spokesperson, as she has since 2000. While she remains an integral part of the L'Oreal Paris world wide Dream Team, she was unfortunately unavailable for our New Year commercial shoot due to prior commitments. She is one of the most iconic women of our times and is certainly the face of L'Oreal Paris internationally and in India for a range of products which include campaigns for Total Repair 5, Excellence Crème, Color Riche, Hydrafresh."

Other current L'Oreal celebrity endorsers include Beyonce, Diane Kruger, Jane Fonda, Rachel Weisz, Gerard Butler, Eva Longoria and Jennifer Lopez.

The New York Times' TV writer Bill Carter was stunned ("unthinkable," is how he put it) at how much the season three premiere of Jersey Shore on MTV (the network's highest rated telecast ever) "crushed" the competition.

The season opener, which sends authoress Snooki and the gang back to New Jersey after last season's sojourn in Miami Beach, hit nearly 5.5 million viewers aged 18-49 — "the audience most desired by advertisers," as Carter notes, adding that "the evidence continues to suggest that the cast members of Jersey Shore are among the biggest stars on television at the moment."

What's more, he points out, the total audience for Jersey Shore was 8.446 million, "the biggest for any series episode in the history of MTV. That number is likely to grow substantially when additional time-shifted viewing from DVRs is included."