Wal-Mart is entering the realm of "Reality Television", only it won't be as a sponsor of super-physical, survivor-type shows.
For the first time, Wal-Mart Stores is becoming a major sponsor of a reality television show, by signing a branded-entertainment agreement with ABC for "The Scholar," a summer series that begins a six-week run on Monday night. Wal-Mart will be woven into the plots of episodes of the show, which is centered on a competition among 10 high school seniors from across the country for a grand prize of a full college scholarship, valued at $250,000, covering tuition and expenses.The students will compete in a variety of academic, creative and social tasks, including team challenges, oral exams and defending themselves before a scholarship committee. In one challenge, the five members of the winning team each receive a $2,000 Wal-Mart gift card to outfit their dormitory rooms. And Wal-Mart is underwriting the cost of the scholarships for the nine runners-up, totaling $300,000. (The Broad Foundation in Los Angeles is donating the grand prize.)
There will also be commercials during the show promoting the Wal-Mart and Sam's Club Foundation's long-running program offering scholarships to students in towns where it operates stores and distribution centers.
Apparently Wal-Mart's motivation is to try to counter some of the image problems they think they have been having. The fact that they think they have been having image problems suggests that perhaps the anti-Wal-Mart forces have been having an impact.
Posted by TheEclecticEconoclast on June, 7 2005 at 05:04 PM
