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Simon Fuller’s 19 Entertainment partners with Hulu, Clear Channel, MySpace, Pepsi and Ford
MUMBAI: Simon Fuller‘s new entertainment venture If I Can Dream, which launches early 2010, will be distributed and marketed to a global audience through a number of integrated partnerships with brands. Fuller created the music based reality show American Idol.
The show will follow five young performers (a musician, an actor, two actresses and a model) who move into a house in Hollywood. The house is wired with 50 cameras so the contestants can be viewed online 24/7. Each contestant has been judged to excel in either one of the creative arts, sport or fashion and the premise of the show will be to follow the as they attempt to succeed in their chosen field.
The show will attempt to be fully interactive, using all popular forms of new media to allow participants to communicate and make decisions with the audience. The show‘s website ificandream.com will stream footage from the house and participants will have a regular vlog alongside holding regular webchats.
Hulu and Clear Channel will create a distribution partnership with MySpace building an exclusive audition platform. Both PepsiCo and Ford are also confirmed as founding partners for the production.
Hulu will stream an If I Can Dream TV episode each week exclusively via Hulu.com. Each programme will include highlights from the week, stringing together the storylines from the past seven days into an easy to follow episode. It will be the first recurring show to be available to select international audiences via Hulu.
Hulu senior VP content and distribution Andy Forssell says, “Innovate is not a buzzword for Simon Fuller and 19 Entertainment. They‘ve consistently delivered extremely high quality content in innovative ways, and helped to change how viewers engage with entertainment. That‘s a great match with what Hulu is all about, and we‘re excited and honored to partner with them on If I Can Dream as part of our mission to help people find and enjoy the world‘s premium content, when, where and how they want it.”
Clear Channel Radio will serve as a core partner in introducing the If I Can Dream cast to the US audience of over 100 million people on-air each week and to 30 million people on its digital properties monthly. Clear Channel‘s local radio personalities and audience interaction will spur daily conversations, and through Clear Channel‘s content creation and distribution platform, the IF I CAN DREAM cast member stories will come to life on-air, online, and on mobile devices.
Clear Channel Radio executive VP Evan Harrison says, “19 Entertainment‘s fresh approach to talent development will find fertile ground on Clear Channel‘s stations and digital properties. Our highly engaged on-air and online communities will be the engines that drive ongoing interest in the cast. Together, we have the opportunity to completely change the paradigm and break new talent across multiple platforms simultaneously.”
As the exclusive audition and primary social networking platform for If I Can Dream, MySpace will provide the ability for other hopefuls to realise their own dreams. Through the audition process, essentially anyone will have the chance to take part in the show by uploading videos explaining why they deserve to be featured. IF I CAN DREAM will have a customized page on MySpace empowering fans to socialize content by sharing, commenting and interacting. The integration exemplifies the aspirational overlay that has always existed on MySpace and the site‘s ongoing capability to offer access to once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.
MySpace senior VP marketing, entertainment and content Angela Courtin says, “For years musicians, comedians, filmmakers, models and actors have come to MySpace to express themselves and to showcase their talents to a global community. Now we are giving them another incredible opportunity to do just that and looking forward to the talent that we know will emerge. We‘re thrilled to be working with 19 Entertainment and all other involved partners on this project to bring If I Can Dream to a large audience.”
If I Can Dream is developing integrated partnerships with a select set of blue chip brands. Pepsi was the first company to embrace this innovative concept and its unconventional approach to multiple platforms. In keeping with the IF I CAN DREAM spirit of young people refreshing their worlds, Pepsi‘s Refresh Project will play an important role in the experience. As a founding partner The Pepsi Refresh Project on If I Can Dream.
Pepsi-Cola North American Beverages senior VP Chief Consumer Engagement Officer Frank Cooper says, “If I Can Dream is a groundbreaking interactive experience that represents our ongoing efforts to engage with consumers across a variety of platforms. If I Can Dream is one of many innovative ways the Pepsi Refresh Project will be featured in the digital space. Partnering with 19 Entertainment, Hulu, and MySpace ensures that this will be a multimedia project that will change the way people interact with programming”
Ford will be partnering with the show to create a new marketing initiative to pre-promote the launch of the 2011 North American Ford Fiesta. This will build on the Fiesta Movement programme, a social media initiative that generated over 675,000 flickr views and 5.5 million YouTube views.
Ford manager, brand content and alliances Connie Fontaine says, “The Ford Fiesta already has the attention of socially vibrant consumers months before it goes on sale in North America next summer. So when 19 Entertainment approached us to cast the Fiesta in If I Can Dream, it seemed only natural. The role that 19 Entertainment and Ford has created for Fiesta is really exciting and will provide viewers a different look at the cast members through amazing technology and the Fiesta.”
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With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
