‘The Chopper Challenge’ Is A Hit With Brands

               Chopper Fans Across America Flock To The Show



    NEW YORK, July 14 /EMWNews/ -- Halfway through its first season,

"The Chopper Challenge" has won the hearts of viewers and praise from its

brand partners. The show airs weekly on Wednesdays at 8:30 pm ET/PT via

Viacom's CMT network. Each week, a celebrity bike builder designs and

builds a sponsor-inspired, fully handcrafted, custom logo-branded

motorcycle. "The Chopper Challenge" offers brands the opportunity to

connect, as well as deepen their relationship, with consumers.



    "The Chopper Challenge" is produced by V Entertainment Group LLC, which

retained GMR Entertainment to secure all of its brand partners for the

series. GMR Entertainment is one of the leading music and entertainment

marketing agencies within the Omnicom Group.



    "The Chopper Challenge" is aimed at the 35 million current motorcycle

owners/operators in the U.S. -- as well as fans of the sport. The series

premiered, May 14, with a GEICO-branded bike, built by master bike builder,

Kirk Taylor of Custom Design Studios.



    "GEICO is very pleased to be part of such a fantastic show," says GEICO

powersports marketing representative Eric Vaden. "We love the bikes that

have been produced and being able to see the creative talent and ingenuity

that goes into each of these bikes is very intriguing. We feel that the

viewers of CMT's 'Chopper Challenge' are the right people for us to reach

out to regarding our family of insurance products and we love the

interaction that 'Chopper Challenge' gives us with this audience. It's a

great partnership that we look forward to continuing."



    GEICO was so happy with the result that it signed on for a second

episode, which aired July 9. GEICO's first "Chopper Challenge" episode

spotlighted the Gecko lizard, while the second features the Caveman.



    In addition to GEICO, "The Chopper Challenge" has partnered with "The

Incredible Hulk" (bike built by Scott Long and Central Coast Cycles), Road

Runner High Speed Online/Time Warner Cable (Cole Foster of Salinas Boys),

the rock band Seether (John Shope of SSinister Cycles) Patron Tequila

(Johnny Goodson's Insane Custom Cycles), Mohegan Sun (Mitch Bergeron of

Mitch Bergeron Customs), Monster Energy (Alan Lee of Alan Lee Designs) and

Jim Beam (Ralph Randolph of Knockout Motorcycle Company).



    While the series prominently shines the light on master bike builders,

the Jim Beam-branded episode of "The Chopper Challenge" also shed light on

a worthy cause. "By supporting real-life subjects in non-traditional ways,

Jim Beam is putting the brand's timeless values into a context that makes

them contemporary and relevant to today's consumer," explains Rory Finlay,

senior vice president and global chief marketing officer of Beam Global

Spirits & Wine, Inc. "We're excited that Ralph Randolph's chopper creation

will continue to raise awareness of Operation Homefront and bring further

proceeds to this foundation which supports our troops and their

hard-working families."



    Until now, motorcycle shows have offered great entertainment for the

motorcyclist, but often forgetting that most riders have passengers. "But

we wanted 'The Chopper Challenge' to be entertaining, educational and

inspirational for all ages and genders, not just bikers," notes Eric

Harryman, co-president of V Entertainment Group.



    Harryman continues, "Each week, with 'The Chopper Challenge,' you don't

know what you're going to get. In every episode, the viewer is exposed to a

different artist -- a master craftsman -- and a different brand, which

supplies the creative element for building the bike. Of course, viewers get

to see a fully completed custom machine, created from the ground up. This

show is about the artist -- the bike builder. However, we tell the artist,

'Here is a blank canvas, here are the colors you must use, and this is the

subject matter, which must be reflected in your painting -- your bike.'"



    Normally, GMR Entertainment is asked to partner one brand with one

entertainment property, notes Marcus Peterzell, co-managing director of GMR

Entertainment. "But in this case, we had to come up with nine brands, which

was challenging. Fortunately, we had a show that was compelling,

entertaining and interesting -- and brands wanted to be a part of it."



    "The Chopper Challenge" will culminate in a series finale, airing July

16, where one of the nine bike builders will be declared the grand prize

winner via viewer voting.



    In the meantime, V Entertainment Group is gearing up for the next

season. "We've enjoyed our inaugural season of 'The Chopper Challenge' with

CMT," Harryman says. "Based on our performance and the overwhelming

response from viewers, we look forward to going boldly into the second

season."

    About V Entertainment Group LLC



    Established in 2005 and based in Beverly Hills, California, V

Entertainment Group was created solely for the purpose of creating,

acquisitioning and developing motion picture and television projects and

entertainment-related endeavors. "The Chopper Challenge" is one television

series amongst many other motion picture and TV projects currently in

development for the company.



    About GMR Entertainment



    GMR Entertainment is a global entertainment marketing agency that

offers clients comprehensive services, including music/entertainment

strategy and consulting; talent procurement and licensing; experiential

live activation; entertainment partnerships; brand integration and product

placement; and digital consulting and marketing.



    With offices in New York, Milwaukee, Chicago, Los Angeles, London,

Paris and Beijing, GMR Entertainment is a division of GMR Marketing, a

member of the Radiate Group, a global network of independently branded

marketing services agencies operating within the Omnicom Group Inc.



    About CMT



    CMT, a unit of Viacom's MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is the leading

television and digital authority on country music and entertainment,

reaching more than 87 million homes in the U.S. CMT and its website,

CMT.com, offer an unparalleled mix of music, news, live concerts and series

and is the top resource for country music on demand. The network's digital

platforms include the 24-hour music channel, CMT Pure Country, CMT Mobile

and CMT VOD.