Watching MTV

Can you believe it, “The Real World: Sydney” hasn’t even aired yet and we’re already talking about the next season! There’s still no word as to where the 20th season of “The Real World” will film (rumors point to LA), but we do have our first castmember. Say hello to “PretyBoy”:

[source]

“PretyBoy,” whose real name is Greg Halstead, was the lucky winner of MTV’s “Real World Casting” web contest. For those of you in the dark, MTV set up a networking site where viewers could campain for votes to land a spot in the next “Real World” house. As weeks went by contestants were weeded down to just one person. Here’s what the new winner had to say about being cast:

I really wouldnt find it too beneficial for my family to see how much I do use profanity, or how many “females” I “entertain.” They really are unaware of my life regarding these two aspects. SO, I might have to tone down my language

[source]

Um, ok? Something juicier would have been nicer. For the link to Greg’s personal “Real World Casting” page, as well as to read more of what he had to say, click “read the rest of this entry.”

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Yo quiero Taco Bell (this post is going to make me so hungry). Anyway, Taco Bell is sponsoring a contest where viewers can create digital commercials and try to win a 30-second spot during the VMAs. Contestants must create a digitally animated character of themselves, an “avatar,” and produce a creative, persuasive, and tantalizing Taco Bell commercial. Here’s the official word:

“Our 18- to 24-year-old customers are all about creating their own videos and content online, and this consumer-generated ‘avatarsment’ gives us an opportunity to think outside the bun while getting them inside our ads,” said Bob Fulmer, interim chief marketing officer of Taco Bell Corp. “And if starring in a television commercial weren’t enough, who wouldn’t want to debut their 3D animated talking avatar in front of millions of viewers during MTV’s highest-rated music awards show, the VMAs?”

ON THE NET
To audition or to see rules, log on to www.tacobell.com by Sunday.
Using Gizmoz.com’s photorealistic avatars, consumers can audition for the Taco Bell TV Me! search by uploading a digital photograph. In less than a minute, their 3D lifelike head and personalized body is automatically created.

I’m sure the talented WatchingMTV.com readers would do great at this contest–click here to read the full article and get all the entry guidelines. I’m off to get a burrito supreme.

The VMAs are notorious as being the badass of the award shows scene. They can bring the Grammy’s to its knees with just a cold glare, and the Emmys don’t stand a chance when faced with the VMAs’ menacing… enough of that.

If you want to experience this firsthand, or even just meet SuChin Pak, you can enter this Neutrogena contest:

Neutrogena is teaming with MTV for a contest that ties into the cable TV station’s 2007 Video Music Awards.

Entrants are asked to submit 500-word essays and accompanying photos explaining their enthusiasm for the awards show to a promotional web site. Twenty finalists will be chosen to create two-minute videos in which they express a desire to be part of the Neutrogena VMA Fan Lounge at the awards show in Las Vegas on Sept 9. Ten grand-prize winners receive a trip to the event and a chance to appear on air during the show.

I know you all groaned when you read that “500-word essay” part, but I believe in you! Roll up your sleeves, get dirty (and then clean, with Neutrogena, naturally), and enter the contest.

Then, provide all your juicy scoop to me so I can blog about it.