Jewelry Line for MKA

"First clothing lines The Row and Elizabeth and James and now a jewelry collection? The fashion gods must be listening! Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have teamed up with CFDA award-winning jewelry designer and sculptor Robert Lee Morris to create bling for the masses under a line dubbed Robert Lee Morris for Elizabeth and James. Well, the price point of the line will determine how much mass appeal it will have, but I can't wait to see the pieces. The trio has been hard at work for a few months, digging into archives in Morris' headquarters in downtown Manhattan. So what can we expect from the petite sisters? Why, nothing short of silver and brass dagger necklaces, knuckle rings, and cool earrings. Bring. It. On!

Start saving money — Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's jewelry line is due to hit stores in September. The Robert Lee Morris for Elizabeth and James collection will consist of over 80 gold and silver pieces. Staying true to their unique style (see Mary-Kate's little bedecked hands below), look forward to seeing abstract earrings, necklaces, metal cuffs, and rings embellished with crosses and daggers along with beading.
Commenting on the collaborative collection, Ashley states, "We liked the idea of having playful elements along with timeless and ageless pieces. The symbols are attachable and you can take the jewelry and make it your own. There are solid silver and gold pieces to wear forever and comfort pieces that you'll put on and wear everywhere."

The pieces will retail from $65 to $700, and be sold at Intermix stores nationwide, Holt Renfrew, Lane Crawford, and On Pedder. The dynamic duo have also hinted to an upcoming shoe and bag collection.

Webcast Gadgets Inspired by iCarly for girls 9-14

An iCarly-inspired camera: what do you pink...err, think?
(Credit: Nickelodeon)
Nickelodeon, Viacom Consumer Products, and Imation announced Monday that they're expanding their already choice-intensive line of youth-friendly electronics under Nickelodeon's Npower line to include Webcast gadgets inspired by iCarly.
That popular Nickelodeon show and Web site follow its characters as they host a Web show and grapple with everyday tween problems and adventures along the way (maybe one of those problems should be parsing out which gadgets to buy?).
Npower's iCarly line of electronics, which are being marketed to girls ages 9 to 14, include a $79.99 Webcam; a $24.99 iCarly action cam accessory that includes a steady cam mount, on-camera lighting, and detachable reporter-style mic for interviews that might inspire the next generation of CNET journalists; and a $39.99 iCarly 3-in-1 digicam that's also a PC, Web, and video camera.
The devices come with iCarly Digital Diary Software, which makes it easy to add photos, videos, and music, and text to a digital diary or journal. The iCarly program also lets kids upload videos and images to sites like iCarly.com.

iCarly in bed with AT&T

(click on title above to link to original article)

Nick Dials in Wireless With iCarly Buy
AT&T is buying time on Nick’s hybrid hit, iCarly, the show within a show that incorporates user-generated content into its linear narrative.
Aug 25, 2008
-By Anthony Crupi

Nickelodeon has signed its first wireless client, AT&T, to a multiplatform deal that coincides with the brand’s foray into the tween space.

AT&T is buying time on Nick’s hybrid hit, iCarly, the show within a show that incorporates user-generated content into its linear narrative. Speaking to Nick viewers in their own voice, custom-branded spots demonstrate how smartphones let kids be a part of the media mix while they connect with friends. The first spot will run on Nick next week.

In courting nonendemic advertisers, Nick over the last three years has redefined the kids market, expanding its roster of usual suspects to accommodate more than $100 million in automotive, consumer electronics and travel business. This summer, the net took its game up a notch with the AT&T/iCarly pact

Building off one of iCarly’s popular interactive segments, young actors in the ad use their Samsung Palm Centro phones to watch, shoot and share “Random Dancing” snippets. A call-out then directs viewers to an AT&T microsite hosted by Nick.com.

AT&T will highlight other smartphone models in the campaign, with plans to incorporate Sony Ericsson’s W350 Walkman into the creative later this fall.

According to AT&T’s youth marketing expert, Mimi Chan, tweens represent a vast untapped market for carriers, as usage rates among the iCarly set skyrocket. Of the 20 million in the 8-12 demo, nearly one-third own mobile devices.

While kids increasingly drive demand for wireless products, Chan said, they won’t accept just any phone model. “They see what their older siblings have, and they want that same functionality, the texting and the video,” said Chan, director of national marketing at AT&T.

“That’s why Nickelodeon is such a good fit for us. Kids are early adopters, and iCarly really connects with them on that level.” While iCarly delivers reliable reach, drawing 3 million viewers per episode, it also ranks as cable’s No. 2 live-action series among tweens.

“We’ve had our share of nonendemics before, but those were adult-facing campaigns,” said Jim Perry, executive vp of 360 brand sales for Nickelodeon and the MTVN Kids and Family Group. “This is big because they’re targeting the tween market directly.” The deal, representing a “seven-digit commitment,” Perry said, was set up by the $300 million upfront pact Nick closed with GroupM in May.

Buy their coffee table...and then their book..wait, do they sell coffee tables? Surely they do.

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen explain it all
01:00 PM CDT on Monday, August 4, 2008

The Philadelphia Inquirer
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are, in the words of People magazine, "gearing up to take the literary world by storm" with the publication of their joint memoir, the 272-page Influence, which purportedly charts the Olsens' spiritual and artistic maturation. (And to think they're just 22 years old.)

The sisters "take readers on a journey through their celebrated young lives, pausing to reflect on what has helped shape them into who they are today," a news release reads. The Olsens include interviews with the 20 people who have helped shape them the most, including fashion designers Karl Lagerfeld, Diane Von Furstenberg, John Galliano and Christian Louboutin and model-actress Lauren Hutton. (Curiously missing are such trendsetters as Leo Tolstoy, the Dalai Lama, Jane Austen, Adam Smith and Patti Smith.)

"We want to explain culturally how ideas evolve," Mary-Kate said. The book also features drawings and photographs, and would go beautifully with most standard coffee tables.