Bon Jovi Gives NBC Universal His Brand Name

Ripping a page from Jack Donaghy's playbook ("Never badmouth synergy"), NBC has declared Jon Bon Jovi its 'Artist in Residence' over the next two months. No, he won't be traipsing around 30 Rockefeller Center, serenading the HR department, but he will be exclusively promoting his upcoming album "The Circle" on NBC Universal programs. His Peacock-monogrammed schedule includes segments on Today, The Jay Leno Show, Saturday Night Live, Bravo's Inside the Actors Studio and even an interview on NBC Nightly News. So just who was behind this idea to "reinvent the wheel" and who should ABC, CBS, and Fox start claiming as their indentured musicians?

Bon Jovi's music manager, Jack Rovner, pitched the idea to NBC by saying, "Forget about Top 40 radio; how about Top 40 TV?" The concept was cleared with Jeff Zucker and NBC's chairman of entertainment, Jeff Gaspin, and Bon Jovi's NBC artist residency was consummated. The success of the campaign could dramatically streamline the marketing channels used to promote music, television and movies; already, there is a tendency for NBC talk shows to prioritize its own network-associated star, but if guest appearances are limited by network, the war to book talent could become a much larger, corporate game.

In anticipation of the synergistic strategy's success, Movieline has come up with a headlining artist to kick off each network's indentured music campaign:

ABC: Bruce Springsteen

What better artist to rep the network that's transitioning into an all-American comedic image (The Middle, Modern Family, Hank) than American hero Bruce Springsteen? His most recent album "Working on a Dream" was released last January and The Boss is currently rocking a year-long international tour, but if ABC wants to top NBC at its own game, it should schedule this working class hero for appearances on Good Morning America, The View, Jimmy Kimmel Live and a special reunion episode of Cougar Town.

CBS: Harry Connick, Jr.

Although his last album, "Your Songs" was released in September, Harry Connick's Australian blackface incident thrust him into last week's headlines as a classy gentleman unafraid to politely diss a nation's backwards approach towards racial awareness. The easy-spoken crooner would be a coup for the Tiffany Network, and he could discuss his overseas adventure with a soothing New Orleans drawl on The Early Show, 60 Minutes, and Letterman, ending the residency with a guest stint on How I Met Your Mother.

Fox: Carrie Underwood

Arguably the most successful of the American Idol winners, Underwood was launched into super-stardom by the network and would represent a perfect spokes-artist. Already slated to star in Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special on December 7, her appearances on Fox & Friends, So You Think You Can Dance (as guest judge), and Glee would be buoyed by the special's commercials.

TLC: Falcon the Balloon Boy

When a 6-year-old boy in Colorado went missing this afternoon under mysterious, homemade-hot-air-balloon circumstances, hundreds of news outlets feasted on the strange story. Found alive hours later, Falcon will surely have his fair share of juicy network possibilities to consider in the coming weeks: Should he do the Meredeth Viera Today segment or the sit-down with Jay Leno? Larry King or Regis? While major networks will forget about Falcon the second his freak accident publicity tour is finished, the boy could stretch his fifteen minutes of fame into a two-month (or longer) headliner gig at The Learning Channel, which has grown its brand around strange accidents, weird families and individual oddities. Not only could Falcon the Balloon Boy become the face of TLC, but he could probably score his helium-fetishizing dad a show too.

· NBC Names Jon Bon Jovi 'Artist in Residence [New York Times]