In a whirling dervish of 24/7 digi-social notoriety, it’s not enough for some celebrities to garner massive Twitter followers or Facebook likes, so a growing list of personalities from Floyd Mayweather, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Deepak Chopra, Olivia Munn, Brett Ratner, Andrea Rosso, Steve Aoki, and Danny Trejo are launching their own branded magazines, brought to you, oh eager fan, by the appropriately named MYMAG Media. The celebrities get to choose the titles for their magazines, such as "Hey Olivia!" in Munn's case.

MYMAG is an interactive media platform aimed directly to fans with personalized publications with content that inspires the celeb and, of course, sponsors. Think of it as a celeb's tweets/Tumblr organized into handy readable form with photos and did we mention ads? Or put another way, "MYMAG is a platform for celebrities, popular artists, athletes and more to communicate with their fans in an entirely new way. It gives them a tangible, more personal connection to the people who follow their lives and careers most closely," says Magnus Greaves, founder and CEO of MYMAG.Continue reading...

We've just passed the 50th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe’s death from an overdose of barbiturates, but the world still can’t keep its collective eyes off of her visage — or brand. She may not have an annual week dedicated to her as Elvis does, but her doe-eyed, beauty-marked visage is stronger than ever.

Forbes, which has made something of a cottage industry out of tracking dead celebrities' brands, estimates that Monroe pulled in $27 million in 2011, third behind Michael Jackson and Presley in the dead-celeb sweepstakes.

Her image and likeness are controlled by Authentic Brands Group and partner NECA, which purchased the Monroe brand in 2010. The plan in process now, according to the Associated Press, is to upgrade “Monroe offerings from trinkets to cosmetic lines, spas, salons and apparel.”Continue reading...

Some of the shine has started to come off of Michael Jordan’s once-seemingly eternal luster. Being the owner of the NBA’s worst team, by far, as well as being very anti-player during the last strike has left some not loving Jordan these days.

While Jordan isn’t named in the lawsuit, one of the products with the name of His Airness place don it by the folks at Nike has raised the ire of an energy-drink company. Urban Motive Sportswear is going after Nike for using the phrase “lottery pick” in its “Jordan LS Lottery Pick Jacket,” according to The Urban Daily.

UMS has been selling an energy drink called Lottery Pick since 2004 and it claims that Nike’s product has been hurting the sales of their drink, especially in Chicago where Jordan led the Bulls to six NBA championships.  The suit has it that Nike’s product “damaged [UMS] in a manner that cannot be fully measured or compensated in economic terms and for which there is not adequate remedy at law.” UMS “even claims to have gifted Jordan’s sons some of their merchandise,” The Urban Daily notes.

And to make matters worse for Brand Jordan (as opposed to Jordan Brand, his Nike-backed shoe line), he's coming under fire for an endorsement pitch for Gatorade, with a consumer watchdog criticizing the implied message to youths.Continue reading...

The Barack Obama presidential re-election team today released a new video endorsement by actress Eva Longoria, the national co-chair of Obama for America. In the campaign (click here for the Spanish version), she touches on healthcare, education and immigration to pitch the president (and the American Dream) to the Latino community, and ends by directing voters to Latinos.BarackObama.com for more information.Continue reading...

The world’s most popular teen superstar celebrates a major milestone today, as Canadian songbird Justin Bieber turns 18. For a pop idol who got his start after being discovered on YouTube in 2007, it's only fitting that his fans are trying to set a Guinness World Record for the most social media messages ever, which are being aggregated on happybirthdayjustinbieber.com. 

The goal is to set that record on his actual birthday, by tweeting or posting to Facebook the official message: “Please RT: Setting a world record for @justinbieber! #leggo http://bit.ly/jb18th"

With just under seven hours left at this writing, the effort has already passed the current Guinness World Record of 209,771. Happy Birthday, kidrauhl!

The 53-year-old Madonna promoted her Bridgesteon-sponsored half-time show at Sunday's Super Bowl with a press conference today in which she promised to salsa like the New York Giants' Victor Cruz. 

When it comes to personal branding, it's hard to trump Donald Trump. The self-proclaimed $3 billion brand name may have been conspicuously absent from the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, but don't count Donald Trump out just yet.

Flexing his publicity-prone muscles, Donald Trump gave the media and blogosphere a New Year's gift by proclaiming that he wouldn't rule out a run for president as an independent should the Republicans choose the "wrong candidate." In fact, a report surfaced that a group of Trump supporters had filed paperwork in Texas to allow him to run as a third-party candidate for the "Make America Great Again Party." 

Whether it's true or not, Trump continues to keep the political fire burning — and awareness of his name high.Continue reading...

The King may have left the building, but he has not left the branding. Elvis Presley would have turned 77 on Jan. 8 if he could have found a way to survive the massive amounts of lethal drugs and sandwiches he ingested in the years leading up to his death on Aug. 16, 1977 (unless, of course, he really is that guy spotted at the Hare Krishna ranch in Roswell, New Mexico, back in 2008). 

Assuming it's not, this year marks the 35th anniversary of when the King of Rock was found to be unresponsive on his bathroom floor. The world mourned his death then, but it's ready (at least, his estate is ready) to party now.

Graceland will kick off a yearlong celebration on Thursday that will feature a slew of special events, including tribute concerts, according to release from Elvis Presley Enterprises. An annual birthday shindig for Elvis kicks off Thursday and runs through Sunday. That will be followed up by, you guessed it, an Elvis cruise from Jacksonville, Florida, to Nassau, the Bahamas. It’s not Hawaii, but one can bet a few rounds of “Blue Hawaii” will be heard along the way.Continue reading...