Gene Simmons has been tapped to judge “Jingles,” the new competition reality series seeking the next great jingle composer. The show, via executive producer Mark Burnett, is currently in production and will premiere later this year on CBS.
Simmons will be joined on Jingles by his advisory panel, advertising and marketing gurus Julie Roehm Linda Kaplan Thaler. These opinionated, high-power executives will share their real world expertise and deliver candid commentaries on the performances. It is Simmons, however, who will ultimately determine whether the contestants will be eliminated.
Each week on Jingles, contestants will be challenged to write and perform jingles about anything and everything — from a food, toy, health or beauty aid, to a team fight song, TV show theme or an update to a classic jingle. To survive, they will have to convince Simmons and his panel that they have the musical skills, lyrical talent and sheer wit to move on to the next round. The winner will walk away with a Grand Prize of $100,000 and an ad contract.
Former SVP/marketing and communications for Wal-Mart (yes the dual lawsuits have been settled), Julie Roehm is renowned for her bold and innovative marketing strategies. She has held senior positions at DaimlerChrysler and Ford Motor Company. Roehm was responsible for the tagline "That thing got a Hemi?" and developed Dodge’s ubiquitous motto, "Grab life by the horns."
An award-winning composer with a master’s degree in music, Linda Kaplan Thaler cemented her place in pop culture history by writing one of the world’s best known jingles: "I don’t want to grow up, I’m a Toys R Us kid." Today, she is founder, CEO and Chief Executive Officer of The Kaplan Thaler Group, the billion dollar advertising agency behind the famous "Aflac Duck" campaign. The agency’s blue-chip client roster includes Procter & Gamble’s Dawn and Swiffer brands, Continental Airlines, Kodak, Kraft Foods, Lunesta, Outback Steakhouse, Pfizer, Trojan and U.S. Bank.
