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...

Bill Clinton may be waning as a political brand as the November 2nd elections promise a bloodbath for the Democrats, but it turns out that his personal cachet as a sort of food brand is steadily rising.

The former president has been having uncharacteristic trouble lately getting and keeping crowds at the campaign rallies he headlines for Democratic candidates around the U.S. Maybe the candidates he's stumping for should serve food.Continue reading...

Of all the commentary we've read about LeBron James's brilliant and funny new Nike spot, with its "What should I do?" refrain and image rehab overtones, AOL's NBA blogger Bethlehem Shoals had an interesting take, noting that it "doesn't look to defend or disown" his controversial decision to join the Miami Heat. Indeed,

"not only does he not want your answer, the character (and maybe the real James) doesn't know if there is one. It's not that he's asking the world to 'agree to disagree,' but rather, through the power of satire, ask if there's any stopping a runaway train. And if there's not, well, the only possible answer is to acknowledge the absurdity of the situation and get on with your life. LeBron set out to make this offseason into a singular, memorable NBA event. He ended up doing so, just not in the way he, or anyone, could have anticipated. The Summer of Bron was as much about the intense, often unpleasant, disagreements over James' actions as anything he himself did or said. It was a spectacle, but not the way he planned it."

We're just surprised he didn't do this earlier. Watch it above and let us know what you think — and check out Nike's LeBron 8 shoe, which has evolved with LeBron's image evolution says designer Jason Petrie, after the jump.Continue reading...

"I need to be the change I want to see. I need to be part of the solution, and not part of the problem."

With those words, iconic gossip blogger Perez Hilton vows to take the high road and not insult the celebrities he covers on his flagship site, perezhilton.com. 

Yes, ladies and gentlemen: the king of mean says that nice is the new snark. Is it really possible the Web is becoming a kinder and gentler place as personal branding comes of a certain age?Continue reading...

Seated? Ryan Seacrest is launching his own cable channel. Yes, we know. If you need to take a moment to digest this, we understand.

In the shortest time span on record — less than a decade — the entertainment world has watched this personality rise from obscurity to heir (or hair) apparent.

The 33-year-old Seacrest defines the indefatigable Energizer bunny ethos that wins the brass ring in today’s increasingly competitive and ephemeral media marketplace.Continue reading...

The daughter of the storied Muhammad Ali is trading in her boxing gloves for hand cream.

Now a star in her won right, Laila Ali followed in her dad's footsteps to become a world champion boxer, and parlayed that into becoming better known for her philanthropy (and turn on Dancing with the Stars), lending her likeness to brand marketers including Adidas (above), the "Got Milk?" campaign, and during her first pregnancy (she's now expecting #2), pitching Palmers Cocoa Butter.

Now she's ready to expand from endorsements to making her mark in a business of her own. More mother and businesswoman than pugilist these days, Ali is launching the Laila Ali Professional line of hair care, skin care and fragrance products. Hair care products will dominate the line, because Ali feels there is a need for a quality product in that segment.Continue reading...

Arguably one of the top personal brands in entertainment, Lady Gaga has become increasingly political active of late by speaking out against the U.S. military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

Over the weekend she posted a tweet asking Sen. John McCain to watch her YouTube playlist of fan-uploaded videos, some of them by gay servicemen and -women, calling for a repeal of DADT. She's also taking her lobbying from virtual to real life: she's scheduled to speak today at an anti-DADT rally in Portland, Maine.