Top Brand Sponsor and Partnership Integrations for The Face

Oxygen Media and Shine America announced today, a sponsorship deal with Marshalls and partnership integrations with Cosabella, Guido Maria Kretschmer, Kleinfeld Bridal, OpenSky.com, Vogue Eyewear and W Magazine for the eagerly anticipated new supermodel competition series The Face, premiering Tuesday, February 12 at 9pm ET/PT. These multi-dimensional deals provide brands with an exclusive level of exposure through in-show integrations including guest judging roles, authentic modeling challenges for the aspiring models, weekly prizes and exclusive sweepstakes.  For more information, visit www.oxygen.com and follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/OxygenPR.

As previously announced, Oxygen and Shine America have formed a strategic multi-dimensional partnership with ULTA Beauty, a leading retailer that offers its millions of customers a variety of beauty brands, in addition to a full-service hair salon—all under one roof.  Driving the competition is the exclusive grand prize contract for the series winner to become a spokesperson and ambassador for the brand’s Fall and Holiday 2013 national ad campaigns.

The Face lends itself perfectly to the integration of fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands that instantly capture the attention of our fashion-forward audience,” said Jane Olson, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Brand Strategy, Oxygen Media. “These top partners are organically woven into the series in real-life assignments for the aspiring models and extend beyond the series for the ultimate brand exposure that speaks directly to our young, modern viewers.”

The Face is truly bringing together the best of the best in the fashion and modeling industries, from our supermodel coaches to world-class fashion designers and photographers," says Vivi Zigler, President, Shine 360º & Digital, Shine America. "Our impressive roster of brand partners for this series is no different. We are excited that ‘The Face’ has attracted so many top brands that wanted to be a part of this series and at the same time help make our weekly challenges very authentic.”

The seven-episode series goes beyond the glitz and glamour of the modeling industry to find the newest face of ULTA Beauty with super model coaches including global icon Naomi Campbell, who also serves as executive producer, bombshell sensation Karolina Kurkova and fashion ‘It’ girl Coco Rocha and renowned photographer and personality Nigel Barker as host. The stakes are high as aspiring models stand to gain unparalleled experience and valuable skills in pursuit to become The Face.

Proving they can survive in the competitive and cutthroat world of fashion, the hopefuls compete in an array of authentic modeling-industry challenges. From photo shoots and runway shows to commercials for national brands, the top 24 young women selected for Team Naomi, Team Karolina and Team Coco battle it out each week in two different challenges -- a Test Shoot and Campaign – as guest brand representatives and guest judges evaluate their fundamental skills and versatility as a model. 

Joining The Face as a key sponsor, Marshalls, which offers fabulous brand name and designer fashions for the whole family at unbelievable prices, is integrated into Test Shoot and Campaign challenges across multiple episodes. The aspiring hopefuls have access to the Marshalls Accessory Wall featuring the best accessories ranging from scarves and hats to shoes, belts and designer handbags during a Test Shoot challenge where one winner receives a $5,000 Marshalls gift card.   Marshalls Brand Ambassador and self-proclaimed 'super-fan' of Marshalls, celebrity stylist Jenn Rade, will serve as judge for the Campaign challenge where the models compete to create a Spring Dress 'Look Book' for Marshalls.  Marshalls will also promote The Face in dressing rooms nationwide from January 19 – March 26 and through a twitter sweepstakes where one lucky winner will be flown to New York City for a makeover and professional photoshoot.

Earning the ultimate prize for an aspiring model, the season winner will have exposure to millions of consumers as the newest face of ULTA Beauty, with a contract that includes a photo shoot for ads that will appear on signage in more than 500 ULTA stores, on ULTA.com, in ULTA Beauty direct mail magazines and in national publications and newspaper inserts. From personal appearances in ULTA Beauty stores across the U.S., to blogging beauty tips on ulta.com, the winner will also attend Fall Fashion Week 2013 with ULTA Beauty and participate in multiple social media initiatives. In-show integrations for ULTA Beauty will be featured throughout the series, as will the ULTA Cosmetics line of products and the company’s hair and makeup artists for styling.  Carrie Lannon, ULTA Beauty's Director of Public Relations, and Molly Sloat, Director of Trend Development, served as judges for the finale.

In addition, Oxygen and ULTA Beauty are offering fans the chance to party like a supermodel and win a trip to New York City with one guest to attend The Face premiere party.  Twenty winners will also receive an ULTA Beauty gift card and gift bag filled with make-up products used on the series. With over 100,000 submissions to date, fans can enter on www.whoistheface.com/ULTA. 

Well-known Italian lingerie designer Cosabella, will drive a Campaign challenge where the teams compete to show different sides of the Cosabella woman: Conservative, Sweet and Sexy, by appearing a 15 second TV commercial.  The company’s VP Sales, Branding and Innovation executive Guido Campello will serve as a special guest judge to determine the winning team, of which each member will receive an exclusive "Never Say Never" cutie thong set named after them in their signature colors that will be available exclusively in Cosabella flagship stores in New York, Miami and Atlanta, online at Shop.Cosabella.com and Shop.Oxygen.com from February 26 – March 26.

Designer Guido Maria Kretschmer provided the contestants with specially selected dresses for a red carpet event challenge. The winning team members each received a dress and an all-expenses paid trip to walk in one of Kretschmer’s shows in Europe.

Kleinfeld Bridal, the authority in bridal fashion, is featured in a Campaign challenge which tests the models in a physically demanding runway show.  Terry Hall, Fashion Director at Kleinfeld, serves as a guest judge to determine the winning model based on their live runway performance. 

OpenSky.com, the social network for shopping that enables members to connect directly to friends and industry insiders for a personalized shopping experience, joins “The Face” for a Campaign challenge involving a web sales pitch. John Caplan, Founder and CEO of OpenSky, will serve as the special guest judge who decides on the winning team. Each model will stand to win the coveted opportunity to curate a collection available for sale on OpenSky.com and a $1,000 shopping spree on the site.

Vogue Eyewear will showcase their selection of sun and optical frames in a Test Shoot that challenges the models versatility and ability to pose with the “Queen of Posing” Coco Rocha. The winning picture and clip will appear on their highly-trafficked website vogue-eyewear.com. Sun and optical styles showcased on the show can be purchased at Sunglass Hut and LensCrafters stores nationwide.

W Magazine, the Who What Where When Why in the world of style, will require the teams to interpret the frames of a storyboard for a photo shoot with legendary photographer Patrick Demarchelier during a Campaign challenge. W's Editor-in-Chief Stefano Tonchi and Bookings Director Claudine Ingeneri will serve as the special guest judges who will determine the winning team that will be featured in an upcoming issue of the publication.  As a grand prize, the winner of the entire series will be featured in fashion portfolio in an upcoming issue of W.

Additionally, well-known fashion designers DKNY (Donna Karan New York), Christian Siriano and Phillip Lim will provide wardrobe items from their collections throughout the series. 

Fans of The Face can access exclusive content and join the conversation on the show’s social accounts, including Facebook,Twitter, Tumblr, Google+  and Pinterest. Fans may tweet or read about the series using #TheFace hashtag on Twitter. The supermodel coaches and host can also be followed via Twitter using @NaomiCampbell, @KarolinaKurkova, @CocoRocha and @NigelBarker.

The Face is produced by Shine America with Elisabeth Murdoch, Eden Gaha, Paul Franklin, Andrew Frank and Naomi Campbell serving as executive producers.  In her role as executive producer, Campbell helped bring in key fashion designers, photographers, publications, products and contest partners, and created unique, real-life opportunities for the contestants.