Jermaine Dupri x Nu Pop Movement. Readers know we tend to hate on Jermaine Dupri…but that’s all in the past now. First I give him mad props for hitting the press circuit and really pushing how much social media has helped his own business and hip-hop in general. He’s becoming a positive spokesperson for the industry and we like he even more now because his watch company Nu Pop Movement is pretty legit and the designs are fresh.

And what better way to promote your own watch company than to get artists like Bow Wow and Nelly on board. Here are two new “casual” promo shots of them showing off the goods. Check the official Nu Pop site here. See Nelly’s pic after the jump…

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I love how the big artists get trailers for their upcoming albums like they were movies. Jimmy and Interscope have a cash cow on their hands with Gaga so why not spend some of those marketing dollars eh? Actually Iovine might have to shift some media budget over to her costume budget. Who knows what insane costumes she will come up with this time.

Clipse x MTV. MTV has been slowly rolling out more and more music videos into their programming again and hyping it up with “teaser poster” ads similar to what you would see in movie theaters. You might remember 50 Cent’s “Baby By Me” teaser poster.

Apparently Clipse isn’t too happy with what MTV designed for their “Popular Demand” poster as Malice stated on his Twitter “This add is COONRAGEOUS!!!!” In Clipse language add = ad. Take a look and decide for yourself though if the poster is offensive. Via: RR

Busta Rhymes at a photo shoot for Venom Energy drink, the comapany’s ambassadors include Keynon Martin from the Denver Nuggets.

Props: ConcreteLoop

Snoop Dogg x WWE The Dog Father appeared on WWE Monday Night Raw last month to guest host and also promote his new album Malice N Wonderland which hit stores December 8.  Through the partnership WWE broadcast Snoop’s new video “Gangsta Luv” featuring The Dream live. Check out some clips from his performance, he didn’t body slam anyone but he strong armed them.

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Ciara x LG. Ciara has signed on as the new official spokesperson for the upcoming Verizon LG Chocolate ad campaign. Ciara’s image, music and persona will all be used in print and TV campaigns targeting females 13-24 in hopes of increasing their share with the young adult female market. Here is the newest ad currently running on national TV programming.

Wyclef Jean x Western Union Gift Cards, Western Union established a strategic alliance with Wyclef Jean to promote West Union Money Transfer and prepaid services to consumers in the United States. The company kicked off their “Random Acts of Giving” holiday campaign by making a $225,000 donation to Wyclef’s organization Yele Haiti to support education projects.

“I am extremely proud to be part of the Western Union family,” said Wyclef Jean. “For years I have trusted Western Union to help manage my money-transfer needs worldwide. Now consumers can trust them to serve their cash gifting needs through a new prepaid Visa gift card.”

Western Union also held a “Lunchtime Jam Session” featuring Wyclef at the Nokia Theater in New York City to promote his EP with DJ Drama “From the Hut, To the Projects, To the Mansion”. To purchase the gift card go to westernunion.com/wyclef

written by Edwin St. Fort

The success of The Blueprint 3 is highly credited to the marketing campaign behind it and to Jay-Z’s loyal fan base. Despite the album being leaked on the internet prior to its official release, The Blueprint 3 sold 476,000 copies in its first week of sales. The achievement help Jay-Z pass Elvis Presley to become the second artist with more No.1 albums in the 50 year history of the Billboard 200. The second week of sales resulted in 301,000 copies being sold dominating the Billboard #1 spot for two weeks straight. A month and a half later, Mr. Carter goes platinum selling nearly 1.3 million copies.

Let’s recap the blueprint to the  marketing campaign that resulted in successful results. The key features to this campaign were strategic partnerships and media coverage. The release became more of an event rather than just another album on the shelf. It built anticipation and sustained momentum unlike many previous releases. To begin the buzz Jay-Z released “D.O.A” creating controversy to obtain the attention of listeners to usher in the following events.

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Dayam I wish this was a real movie. Love the freakin’ Wu. Don’t forget to watch Part I. Here’s hoping Part III doesn’t end up with RZA’s head in a box.

Usher x VIP Fragrance. Usher behind the scenes of the VIP fragrance campaign, he describes it being  marketed to the elegant individual. The cologne and his new album will be released in 2010.

Far East Movement x Chester French x LMFAO x Pepsi. Pepsi is urban right? It’s hip…it’s cool. Continuing with its urban marketing efforts, Pepsi has launched a user generated online campaign called “Ultimate Refresh.” Basically users can take video clips of artists such as LMFAO, Far East Movement and Chester French and mix them all up on Pepsi’s Digital Mixing player.

The user generated videos can then be uploaded on to UltimateRefresh.com which are then judged by Will.i.am, who will produce a final song and video incorporating his favorite user-generated content into a remixed version of LMFAO’s “La La La.” Video above is a sample of one of these “Ultimate Refresh” video mixes.

Eminem x Call of Duty. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is one of the most anticipated games of the year. Although it already has record pre-sales, Activision is turning the marketing heat up with this new TV spot featuring the Eminem’s “Till I Collapse.” Remember kids…music licensing money is no small change.

50 Cent x Power by 50. As we reported earlier, 50 Cent is set for a mall tour tomorrow to kick off the publicity campaign for his upcoming Power by 50 cologne. The cologne will be sold exclusively at Macy’s. Now the official print ad which will be featured in national men’s magazines has been released.

It was only a matter of time before 50 entered the lucrative fragrance and cosmetics business. Let’s see if it can move units though like “Get Rich or Die Tryin.”

The ODB documentary Dirty: One Word Can Change the World hits theaters in New York Nov 10th and Los Angeles Nov 13th. Directed by Dirty’s cousin Raison Allah, the documentary commemorates the colorful rapper’s life though personal interviews with the Wu-Tang Clan, Sunz of Man, Killarmy, the Black Knight, and the Brooklyn Zu. Go here for ticket info. Via: AHH

Dude n Nem x McDonalds. With over one billion served what better way to get some publicity than to do an entire song and music video about McDonalds. You know the fast food chain loves it as well as they have spent millions in “ethnic marketing” targeting African-Americans and Latinos this past year. Next we are going to see rappers signed to fast food joints and not record labels.