The latest dead celebrity to get the star treatment by brand marketers: Joe DiMaggio, the baseball hall of famer whose 56-game winning streak 70 years ago, marriage to Marilyn Monroe and immortalization in Simon & Garfunkel's Mrs. Robinson has made him an enduring pop culture icon.

DiMaggio, LLC — the sole licensing company and owner of DiMaggio's name and image since the player's death in 1999 — has partnered with MODA Licensing, Inc. and Dominant Players, Inc. to create Joe DiMaggio, LLC to "energize, promote and license" the Joe DiMaggio brand.   

For more thoughts on branding and dead celebrities, check out "Brand Equity Beyond the Grave" by Deloitte global brand manager Gabriela Salinas.

Microsoft used the Golden Globes to unveil its new tagline while Kraft ran a new mac'n'cheese spot that marked its second commercial featuring the golden voice of Ted Williams — a big show of support with the "homeless to Hollywood" insta-star now in rehab. The bigger surprise, perhaps, is the girl's use of the word "piehole" in the spot, above — salty language that echoes the "Dad really screwed this up" in the brand's first spot featuring Williams, which debuted last week.

Without a doubt, the breakout personal brand of the week has to be Ted Williams, whose honey-coated pipes landed him instant fame, job offers and a live segment on the Today Show three days after a viral video of his mellifluously-voiced panhandling pitch propelled him from Columbus, Ohio, to the world stage.

Despite flying Williams out to Manhattan, putting him up in a nice hotel and spiffing him up with a good haircut, the Today Show wardrobe dept. apparently wants to remind you, and him, that this is indeed a camo-jacketed homeless man. In this, The Today show seems to be just continuing the spirit of the original video, which begins, "Gonna' make you work for your dollar. Say something with that great radio voice."Continue reading...

As Glee prepares for its Super Bowl extravaganza on FOX, Emmy-award winning actress Jane Lynch, better known these days as Sue Sylvester on the hit series, is in demand as a celebrity spokesperson.

LG Electronics' text education campaign (announced at last year's CES) leverages Sylvester's tough love persona and plays on her guilt as a real-life texter while driving, as she tells AP above. She's also been appearing as Sylvester in ads for American Express, helping promote AmEx's Members Project tie-in with Glee.Continue reading...

Oprah Winfrey ended 2010 as Hollywood's highest-paid entertainer (earning $315 million last year, according to Forbes), and started 2011 by venturing on her OWN — the name of her much-ballyhooed, Discovery-backed 24/7 cable network. Critics were mostly positive, while response by viewers was predictable (fans were in awe, others couldn't be bothered).

Pundits are closely watching to see if viewers will indeed "follow me to OWN" as she urges a fan in OWN's behind-the-scenes series about her 25th season — and whether her personal brand will carry over as she prepares to step down from the syndicated daytime talk show that made her name and fame.Continue reading...

Terrell Owens may not be the irresistible force he once was on the football field. But the wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals remains practically unparalleled in the increasingly competitive arena of sports-star branding, with a children’s book, breakfast cereal and VH1 reality show among the properties in his personal-brand portfolio.

Owens also has gained trademark protection for “I Love Me Some Me,” one of his constantly repeated catch phrases. Still on a trademark-office docket somewhere: “Getcha Popcorn Ready,” reflecting “T.O.’s” unique end-zone bit after he scores a touchdown — grabbing a fan’s bag of popcorn and throwing it all over himself.

But Owens is getting more competition in the phrase-trademarking arena.Continue reading...

Regardless of whether you rave about or revile her politics — and there seems to be little sentiment in between — it’s hard to argue that Sarah Palin is doing much wrong these days in promoting herself for future glory, whatever that might be.

Indeed, the debut of Sarah Palin’s Alaska last night on America's TLC channel — the most-watched debut in the cable network's history, with 5 million viewers — was only the latest manifestation of her surprisingly prolific personal brand.Continue reading...

She may be on her OWN soon, but Oprah Winfrey's world is about to get a lot bigger.

Launching her 24/7 OWN: the Oprah Winfrey Network in a 50/50 partnership  between her Harpo Productions and Discovery Communications on January 1, the Winfrey-"curated" (as CEO Christina Norman told CNN) channel will debut in 80 million U.S. homes via cable and satellite, where it's replacing the Discovery Health Channel.

Initial bumps in development caused Discovery to increase funding to $189 million and Winfrey to increase her on-air appearances, including starring in Oprah's Next Chapter.Continue reading...