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Chance the Rapper & Quibi brings back ‘Punk’d’

Fondly enjoyed early noughties MTV prank reality show Punk’d is officially being brought back.

Revived by device streaming platform “Quibi” and MTV have forged a deal with “Chance the Rapper”. Grammy-winning hip-hop artist Chance the Rapper will now fill the director’s chair for the updated version of the hidden-camera show to become the new host role, previously filled by charming prankster Ashton Kutcher.


“Punk’d is one of MTV’s most iconic franchises,” said Chance in an interview. “I grew up watching this show and it’s surreal to be in the driver’s seat this time around on Quibi.”

Chance is hardly a surprising choice for hosting duties, given his history with MTV reality shows including the network’s Wild ‘N Out, hosted by Nick Cannon.

The show, from MTV Studios, will be reimagined for a new generation of viewers and available in episodes of 10 minutes or less, alongside short daily news and sports programs which is in keeping with the providers mission objective of offering viral quick content.


The show’s original version piloted in 2003 and featured hidden cameras that recorded celebrities as they were epically pranked by Kutcher. The series officially finished in 2007. Numerous reboots of the series, including one helmed by BET, have arrived and been canned over the years.

Fingers crossed “Chance” can keep the show running this time around.


The service aims to offer three hours of new content each day, with users paying $5 every month for the regular version or $8 to remove adverts. 

Celebrity “marks” for the show will be announced later, although Megan Thee Stallion is featured in a short preview clip for the series. Quibi, which is set to launch on April 6, has yet to reveal premiere dates for any of its more than 50 original series.


Punk’d comes from STX Television in association with MTV Studios. The original co-creator Jason Goldberg returns, along with Ashton Kutcher, who executive produces the revival.


In the series trailer, the show appears to pick up exactly where it left off. Lucky celebrity guest Megan Thee Stallion appears as the first victim in the teaser and seems to be punked into believing that a live gorilla has escaped off the back of a truck.

While no other guests have been announced, previous stars have included Lindsay Lohan, Matthew Perry, Rhianna, Taylor Swift and Justin Timberlake.


Quibi is a tech and entertainment startup in Hollywood that plans to deliver bite-size mobile content from big industry names like Steven Spielberg, Steven Soderbergh, Idris Elba, Don Cheadle and Will Arnett and more for a monthly fee.


The platform aims to air 7,000 pieces of content a year following its North American launch in spring. So far, Walmart, PepsiCo and P&G have all signed on as brand partners.


Classic Episodes


Beyonce

Former Destiny’s Child star Beyonce’s “Punk’d” episode is absolutely hilarious. This superstar shows up for a Christmas event for underprivileged kids, sings “Silent Night” for them, then is entrusted with adorning the star on the giant tree.


Lo and behold, as soon as she starts placing the star, the tree falls over. At Kuther’s behest, the children start yelling “you ruined our Christmas” and put Beyonce in an awkward position. Chance the Rapper is good friends with Beyonce, so hopefully, there’s a part two for the celebrity.

Justin Timberlake

Kutcher made Justin Timberlake’s heart skip a beat for this “Punk’d” episode. The Inland Revenue Service comes knocking at Timberlake’s door, claiming that he owed $900,000 in back taxes. They raced into his house and started repossessing his things, a young and an incognito Dax Shepard at the head of the prank.

The singer ended up calling everyone for help, looking forlorn on the front porch of his home. Coming to the rescue, Kutcher came in smugly, Timberlake relieved he wasn’t in actual trouble.


Elijah Wood

Kutcher wanted to teach Elijah Wood a lesson in smoking, naming the episode “Don’t Blow Smoke Up My Ass”. Wood and his friend were smoking and driving, and stopped by a giant trash bin to throw a cigarette in a can away.


To Wood’s dismay, it was a bin with flammable material that exploded from the cigarette and threw debris on top of another person’s car. That person came out yelling, the cops came, and Wood looked helpless until the crew revealed the truth.

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Why celebrities like startups in India

During recent years there have been an increasing number of celebrities transforming into startup investors. These stars have shown that their talent exceeds taking a great selfie in front of the camera or on the field and they are ready to use their celebrity status and power to increase their millions outside of their normal comfort zones. From retail to aerospace to fitness, Indian celebrities are keen to own a pie in the country’s startup ecosystem, both global and local.


Indian celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan have invested in “Edu’s Fun” and “Just Dial” , Virat Kohil has invested in “Wrogn” the gym chain “Chisel” and Convo and Indian Cricket Captain Run Adam has invested in Cars 24.


This phenomenon of celebrity investors isn’t a surprise or anything new, but the fact that the role and equity of a star are moving beyond brand ambassadors endorsing the product is an curious trend and one that is likely to expand in time.


A recent television interview with a group of startups about this growing trend of celebrity investors. The product advertising has been a lot easier by Facebook’s new initiative ‘Boost with Facebook’ empowering businesses across India with digital education to allow for their business growth.


Anything from retail, aerospace and fitness , Indians are keen to own a piece off the pie. Indians are investing their millions into start up companies.


From local to global the start up companies are looking for celebrities to do more than endorse the products like men’s grooming products. The small and medium businesses are looking for big investors and to contribute to brand ideas.


Across the globe, there are approximately 90 million Small – Medium businesses (SMBs). In India, there is exceptional commitment to giving a boost to the SMB ecosystem. There are two sets of SMBs in India, where a fraction that know how to do business online, but the level of understanding is really small. Suprisingly there are SMB’s that haven’t come online yet, and are still learning the online world completely. For the first set of people who are already online, there are several programmes launched recently to support them. This includes the Venture Capital (“VC brand incubator”) that helps Facebook partner with VCs and as a result helps micro-business entrepreneurs skill, mentor, and train. Small businesses and startups who have small budgets can access various workshops where leaders from Facebook extend solutions that can enable them to grow and scale their business. Facebook recently also launched the SheLeadsTech programme exclusively to encourage women entrepreneurs. The programme has enabled 600 women entrepreneurs access to tools, mentorship, and resources to help overcome barriers, and build a successful business in technology.


Click here for a Video with Interviews

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Billie Eilish, H&M Team for Sustainable Clothing Line

While cementing her place as one of the biggest names in the music industry in recent years, Sh’es been known to use her platform to speak out on environmental causes.


Billie Eilish has ventured into yet another fashion partnership with fashion brand H&M for a collection aimed at eco friendly clothing.

The 18 year old “Everything I wanted” singer has released another fashion collaboration, the line is targeting sustainability.


The range of clothes are made from 100% sustainable materials and are a collection of pieces inspired by Eilish’s signature look. The range is made up of baggy t-shirts, bucket hats and oversized sweaters with every item emblazoned with her logo.

Previously Eilish has joint ventured with various fashion outlets like Bershka, Urban Outfitters and Freak City as well as an online merchandise shop named “Blohsh.”


Eilish, like many celebrities has become more and more outspoken about the fight against climate change and sustainability. She and Woody Harrelson have recently released a public service announcement video titled “Our House Is On Fire,” which details ways people can live more sustainable lifestyles. The video message was broadcast an episode of Saturday Night Live which featured Elish. Before previous concerts, she also gave fans free gig tickets if they pledged to do their best to fight global warming.


 H&M have collaborated with other artists to launch merchandise. Celebrities like Shawn Mendes and Ariana Grande have also branded lines, however, Billie is the first celebrity to make her line sustainable.


“We’re super excited about this merch collection drop,” says Emily Bjorkheim, head of design for Divided, H&M. “Billie Eilish is obviously an inspiring artist but also someone a lot of people around the world admire for her personal style and empowering way of expressing her values.. We want to enable her fans to step into her world and feel empowered to freely express their style as well.”

“Billie Eilish is clearly an inspirational performer, but also someone a lot of people around the world admire for her unique style and empowering way of spreading her values,” she added. “We want to enable her fans to step into her world and feel empowered to freely express their style as well.”


In late 2019, the young singer explained how she was planning on making sure the upcoming “Where Do We Go?” world tour to be as ecologically friendly as possible, by barring plastic straws, asking fans to supply their own reusable water bottles and having plenty of recycling bins accessible in each venue.

In 2019, Eilish’s signature baggy sized outfits and fondness for the colour green saw her make the top of Google’s Most Googled Style list, so it’s a safe bet we can expect a similar vibe for the singer’s H&M merch, all of which is made from sustainable materials.


A big part of her latest eco-responsible venture, Eilish has launched a merchandise range with high street retailer H&M, featuring clothing that imitate her signature enlarged silhouettes.

H&M states in a press release. Every item in the collection has been made using materials that have been “sourced in a more sustainable way”,

Billie Eilish and H&M release sustainable clothing collaboration


The pieces’ designs feature Eilish’s official logos and come in beige, black and neon green colourways. The collection includes printed T-shirts, bucket hats, a bumbag and oversized sweatshirts.

It is available to purchase worldwide from all H&M stores carrying the Divided concept and online at hm.com.


Emily Bjorkheim, H&M’s head of design said “Billie Eilish is obviously an inspiring artist, but also someone a lot of people across the globe look up to for her personal style and empowering way of expressing her values,”.

“We want to enable her fans to step into her world and feel empowered to freely express their style as well.”


3D make-up artist Ines Alpha who worked on the collection’s launch campaign, creating delightful visuals that have been turned into an exclusive Snapchat filter.

Billies collection features long, boxy T-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirt dresses, joggers, and T-shirt dresses in Eilish’s signature green, as well as cream, black, and pale green. According to a press release, Alpha created the graphics for the campaign imagery, using “surreal 3D elements” that resemble paint splatter. She also made a custom Snapchat filter with the same splattered look for shoppers to play with — while wearing the merch, of course.

“For the H&M Billie Eilish merchendising campaign, I wanted to work with liquids from another planet, floating around the models and bringing colours and fun to this augmented world,” the artist said.

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Samuel L. Jackson & Amazon Alexa

Amazon has kicked off its “Celebrity Voice Program” by giving users the ability to choose the voice of Samuel L. Jackson. The company announced the “Celebrity Voice Program” in early September and has ow fulfilled its promise.


To get the voice of Samuel L. Jackson and replace it with Alexa’s default voice you are able to pay $0.99. The voice of Samuel L. Jackson is able to perform all the tasks that the default Alexa voice is able to do. It is able to tell you the weather, music and can even tell kids to go to sleep.


After you pay the price tag of $0.99 you own the voice. It is simple to activate according to Amazon. All you have to say to enable this feature is simply say “Alexa introduce me to Samuel L. Jackson.” However, Alexa’s default voice does not go away and remains the default. According to ‘The Verge’ you have to specifically request the voce of Samuel L. Jackson by saying “Alexa, ask Samuel L. Jackson,” and then say your question or command.


According to multiple sources, Amazon is using its neural text-to-speech model which is a deepfake but more lightweight. However, Samuel L. Jackson has allowed Amazon to prerecord clips of his voice. He was able to record and provide lots of audio for Amazon to use and base most things on. You can hear one of the neural text-to-speech clips of audio by asking for the weather forecast but other responses are from pre-recorded, provided clips of audio.


The Samuel L. Jackson celebrity voice can also be set up to be explicit. This means that if you requested it or turned it on in settings it will swear in your responses. However, Samuel L. Jackson is quite explicit in his vocab as an actor. It is a touch by Amazon to make the celebrity voice even well heard.


If you ask the Samuel L. Jackson for jokes it will say special recorded jokes. Amazon and the famous actor have also included comments and personal information of Jackson. Some disappointing news is that the standard artificial voice of Alexa is still heavily required to set reminders, make shopping lists and other various tasks.


His voice as of now is only in English and as of current knowledge Amazon has not yet revealed if it plans to expand the voice into further languages. However, Amazon does have plans to include more celebrity voice options in 2020. Samuel L. Jackson is just making the way for more celebrity voices to be introduced and adapted to Alexa.


Currently you can say a few things asking to be Samuel L. Jackson’s voice for Alexa / him to say:

“Alexa, ask Samuel what it was like making Star Wars“.

“Alexa, ask Samuel for the news”.

“Alexa, ask Sam Jackson to sing happy birthday”

He will respond with personal comments and a good sense of humour. Google is attempting the same exact thing with a feature it calls ‘Cameo’ and heavily relies on Google’s WaveNet technology. It allows Google Assistant to sound like either Issa Rae or John Legend. However, unlike Amazon’s neural text-to-speech Google’s WaveNet is a lot more limited in capability which reduces its function and purpose.


It seems as though celebrity voices will soon be a standard across virtual smart assistants as artificial intelligence improves and celebrities join. Hopefully, you are soon able to control these smart virtual assistants fully through the voice of the selected celebrity.


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Mega Stars Helped Airbnb to turn into luxury Brand – Find out who.

Big stars can never stay out of the news. With the help of different social media platforms, celebrities stay interconnected with their fans. As the world has become a global village, fans know about every second of their life.


Recently, Mariah Carey went to Malibu, California however, the thing that made headline was when her photo of staying at Airbnb was surfaced on Instagram.


The different headlines were TMZ (“Mariah Carey: I USED AIRBNB… For My Sick Malibu Rental”), Page Six (“Inside Mariah Carey’s $10K-a-night Airbnb rental”) and PopSugar (“Mariah Carey’s $10,000-a-Night Airbnb Is the Ultimate Fantasy,” along with a slideshow).


It was not just a big star was scrolling the app; it was the part of the celebrity marketing campaign. The company carried the test run, it was a huge success. Through this, company revenues were rapidly increased. Airbnb covered the cost for Carey’s stay. Carey was just the start of the campaign, now company successfully has a relationship with sixty-five celebrities, which include megastars like Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, and Beyoncé.


Celebrity Marketing Program was initiated by Airbnb even before when people do not know what influencer is. It was so successful that, their business went to its peak. Superstar advertising bonanza is the forerunner to come and assumes a vital role in setting up Airbnb as a high quality retreats now a key piece of the organization’s procedure as it tries to legitimize a $31 billion valuation and go public one year from now.


“The Mariah relationship has gotten legendary for Airbnb,” says Jonathan Mildenhall, who was Airbnb’s head advertising official at the time.


Airbnb declined to furnish information on its associations with famous people. “As a cordiality organization that grasps facilitating, we work with various VIPs and public celebrities and regularly take care of the check,” a representative wrote in a messaged proclamation.


Before an organization can get a star to utilize and support its items to a huge number of devotees, however, it needs to get a presentation. At the time, Airbnbdidn’t have the financial backing to experience the run of the mill guards. Ability organizations that may expedite a conventional sponsorship bargain were restrictively costly, Mildenhall says.


So Brian Chesky, Airbnb’s CEO, offered a whimsical thought. There was a person in Las Vegas who ran a dance club pressed with superstars, who were his companions; he facilitated their gatherings, and they may very well tune in to his suggestions about a house-rental application. “Proceed to look at this person,” Mildenhall reviews Chesky letting him know. “Check whether it’s bona fide.”


Chesky’s person was Jeff Beacher. His club, Beacher’s Madhouse, was the stuff of Las Vegas legend. Beacher himself was a nightlife organization, named at various occasions a “big name actor” by Rolling Stone, an “extraordinary pioneer” by Entrepreneur and a “beefy jokester sovereign” by the Las Vegas Weekly.


This was how Airbnb started its ways to Celebrity Branding. By this, We can now understand the significance of celebrity branding and marketing. Celebrity branding helps the company to grow its revenue.


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Canopy Growth Teams Up With Music Superstar Drake for New Brand

In what has to be considered a big leap in celebrity involvement with the marijuana industry, Canadian music and TV star Drake is partnering with Canopy Growth (NYSE:CGC) to launch a new cannabis producer.


This business, called the More Life Growth Company, is headquartered in Toronto, which also happens to be Drake’s hometown.


Affiliates connected with the musician/actor hold 60% of More Life, with Canopy Growth owning the remainder. In its press release touting the deal, Canopy Growth said that More Life, through its ownership of an unnamed “entity,” owns a license from Health Canada to grow, process, and sell cannabis from a facility it owns in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough.


Canopy Growth said it is maintaining and managing the operations of this facility. It is retaining all rights to distribute the cannabis grown there.


More Life will continue to be strongly associated with Drake. Canopy Growth said that the entertainer has bestowed upon it “the right to exclusively exploit certain intellectual property and brands in association with the growth, manufacture, production, marketing and sale of cannabis and cannabis-related products, accessories, merchandise and paraphernalia in Canada and internationally.” The company provided no other specifics.


These rights have been sublicensed to Canopy Growth in return for what are effectively royalty payments on More Life products sold in Canada. Additionally, Canopy Growth holds an option to expand this sublicense into international markets. Finally, the company may nominate two candidates to the board of directors of More Life and holds a “preemptive right” to maintain its 40% stake.


In its press release, Canopy Growth said that “Drake’s perspective as a culture leader and entrepreneur combined with Canopy Growth’s breadth of cannabis knowledge will allow our new company to bring an unmatched cannabis experience to global markets.” Canopy Growth offered no estimates as to how More Life might affect its future revenue or profitability. The company said more details on its venture with Drake will be made public in the coming weeks.


Canopy Growth, considered a leading marijuana stock, reacted positively to its rather unexpected association with a celebrity. The shares rose by more than 12% on Friday, although they are still down by 20% year to date.


Here’s The Marijuana Stock You’ve Been Waiting For

A little-known Canadian company just unlocked what some experts think could be the key to profiting off the coming marijuana boom.


And make no mistake – it is coming.

Cannabis legalization is sweeping over North America – 10 states plus Washington, D.C., have all legalized recreational marijuana over the last few years, and full legalization came to Canada in October 2018.


And one under-the-radar Canadian company is poised to explode from this coming marijuana revolution.

Because a game-changing deal just went down between the Ontario government and this powerhouse company…and you need to hear this story today if you have even considered investing in pot stocks.

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Welcome to our Blog

As Passiontainment we know in this modern world where connectivity is the key to success, it is important to engage certain personalities that can influence you to adopt a certain lifestyle. Having known about the news is key in today’s you will be left behind if you will not be aware of the news. The influence is all about moving towards a better community that works for the betterment of the human race.


Thanks to social media platforms like Instagram, celebrities now days have millions of fans that engage with them on different levels. Keeping this in mind that this creates an environment where all of this is based on shared passions, emotions, and lifestyles. So keeping with the different news about different celebrities is very significant. We want to keep you up to date about news from the celebrities’ branding marketing world.


Sharing news about most innovative celebrities has deep-rooted meaning and they somehow advocate love to their Fans. Compares to “rainbow-press-news” we believe that our information and news are more sustainable as they are founded upon the basis of factual information.


Readers will know how celebrities are teaming up with brands, different startups or they are starting their own ventures. There will be also some interesting news about the Influencer Marketing World. We will pick the most interesting news and you will be informed about the celebrity brand & influencer marketing industry. If you like our blog, please share it 🙂