Nestle Life Creates Web Series to Promote Product

Nestle’s line of Pure Life has partnered with Publicis Groupe’s ZenithOptimedia and has co-created a new online advertisement. It is said to be the first time the brand has used online video to endorse itself. The series was developed through ZO’s branded content unit, Newcast, and with Electus, the production company headed by former NBC Entertainment president Ben Silverman.

The series, called the Nestle Pure Life Hydration series, aired last week on the Web site ModernMom.com. ModernMom, which also helped develop the series, is a site devoted to mothers seeking healthy lifestyle suggestions for families. Subjects include parenting, pregnancy, family, cooking, finances, career, health, wellness, beauty and entertainment. The series will also be showcased on ModernMom's Youtube channel.

The series features nutritionists and others providing tips about raising healthy and well-hydrated kids. The Pure Life products are notably featured in each episode, although the messages more broadly address the health benefits of drinking water (not just Pure Life), as well as other diet and exercise tips.

See more about PureLife

Will Arnett Promotes DumbDumb

Will Arnett is one half of the branded entertainment production company DumbDumb, which he founded with Jason Bateman back in early 2010. Under that banner, the duo has since produced a handful of original web series with household brand names attached, this includes a selection of Dirty Shorts for Orbitz and a extremely successful celebrity talk show hosted inside your local neighborhood Denny’s dubbed Always Open. The creators of the popular first-person shooter Call of Duty also recently tapped Arnett and Bateman’s DumbDumb to create premium companion programming for the video game’s soon-to-be debuted online entertainment hub.

Check it out and think about the fact Arnett, who’s in a new NBC sitcom along with Christina Applegate and whose cult series Arrested Development is lighting up Google Trends with news of a movie and mini TV run – spent half his time on a cable television talk show talking about his online branded entertainment company instead of any of his current projects.
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Electus Plans to Launch New Musical Series

Electus continues to pull in exciting new shows to the US market. Already being compared to Glee, The Kitchen Musical is a musical drama set in the restaurant world. It is co-produced by The Group Entertainment, Electus/Engine Distribution and Small World Productions with Electus/Engine Distribution owning distribution rights across all platforms including television, motion picture, and digital.

Silverman, founder and CEO of Electus stated: “We are pleased to add this compelling new seriesto our fast-growing slate of high concept, international programming as The Kitchen Musical has universal appeal that will resonate greatly with the global marketplace.”

Click here to read more from the Hollywood Reporter.

New Fashion Series “Fashion Star” Partners with Retailers

NBC’s “Fashion Star,” produced by Electus and Magical Elves, recently set its retail partners for its upcoming inaugural season. Macy’s, Saks Fifth Avenue and H&M will all team up with the show this coming fall. The show, which is currently taping, features 14 unknown designers who are vying to win an exclusive capsule line in all three stores. The contestants will be judged by a panel of celebrity mentors, who were announced earlier this month by the network — Nicole Richie, Jessica Simpson and John Varvatos.

Nicole Richie has her own jewelry line, House of Harlow 1960, which she launched in late 2008 and later expanded to include shoes and apparel. She also partnered with maternity store Pea in the Pod to do an exclusive maternity line with the retailer. Jessica Simpson started her self-titled collection, featuring shoes and handbags, in 2005. John Varvatos is a leading menswear’s designer who has worked for both Polo Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein. Elle Macpherson will host.

Each hour-long episode will feature a fashion show where designers will show their work in front of a live audience. The contestant whose design doesn’t get picked up by a retailer will be eliminated.

"Partnering with the world's best retailers will offer audiences an intimate, real-world look into how the fashion industry works and what makes buyers tick," Ben Silverman, CEO and founder of Electus, said.

Electus’ “Mob Wives” Reunion Racks Up the Ratings

“Mob Wives,” produced by Electus, hosted a reunion special on Sunday night and was met with season-high ratings. VH1 aired the special at 8 p.m. and also had an encore airing at 11 p.m. During the 8 p.m. showing, 1.1 million of the viewers were in the age 18-49 demographic. The show garnered 2.7 million viewers for its special, and had an average of 1.33 million total viewers per episode in its first season. Throughout the season, “Mob Wives’” premieres have made VH1 the no. 1 non-sports cable network in the 8 p.m. timeslot with women age 18-34.

Because of its high viewership, VH1 picked up “Mob Wives” for a second season, which will premiere in the fall. The network slated “Mob Wives” for 12 new episodes. “Mob Wives” goes into the lives of four Staten Island women — Renee Graziano, Drita D’Avanzo, Carla Facciolo and Karen Gravano — whose husbands or fathers have been arrested or imprisoned for mob-related activities. Graziano’s father has been charged with mob-related crimes, and her sister is the creator of the show. D’Avanzo’s husband has been imprisoned for crimes relating to narcotics and robbery. Facciolo’s father was the former acting boss of the Lucchese crime family. Gravano’s father was the underboss of the Bambio crime family and also served as a federal informant.

Electus’ “Mob Wives” will return the same four women for its second season.

Electus’ Ben Silverman on Panel at Cannes Lions International Film Festival of Creativity

Ben Silverman, founder and CEO of Electus, served on a panel alongside Robert Redford, founder and president of Sundance Institute and hosted by Ross Levinsohn, executive vice president of Yahoo! Americas at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. At the event, Yahoo! announced its sponsorship of the short program at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, which will take place January 19-29 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah.

At the event, Yahoo! will premiere a host of new short films and allow audience members to vote for a favorite. The award will be presented to the filmmaker at the Short Film Awards party, which will take place sometime during the festival. More details will be released from Yahoo! closer to the event’s date.

During the panel discussion, Electus’ Ben Silverman talked about how important storytelling can be in the entertainment industry, and how this helps create first-class content for viewers.

Mob Wives Going International

Need a substitute for 'Jersey Shore' or Housewives? Try out the new hit series from Electus and VH1, Mob Wives. Only 5 episodes in, it was renewed for a second season and a reunion show. Most recently the show was picked up internationally by over 20 territories including Austrailia and Canada! Ben Silverman's multimedia entertainment studio Electus is responsible for its creation along with Jennifer Graziano and executive produced by Harvey and Bob Weinstein of The Weinstein Company. The show gives you a real look at what it is like to be born into or married into the mob. If you're not convinced, watch the trailer from VH1 for yourself:
http://www.vh1.com/video/misc/634349/mob-wives-super-tease.jhtml#id=1660352