• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, March 27, 2007

It's time to jettison event planning as a challenge on reality-competition shows. The act has worn too thin and is no longer very intriguing. And as a result, it's hard to imagine brands that serve as the basis for the challenges receiving any great lift in the hearts and minds of viewers?

Essentially, instead of concocting new-fangled challenges for teams on shows like NBC's "The Apprentice" and Bravo's "Top Design," producers seem content too often to divide the contestants into two and ask them to simply orchestrate a party or a promotional event. And, of course, the event must revolve around a brand, thanks to marketers who've paid a pretty penny for the product placement.

"The Apprentice" has been the biggest offender here. Over the years, somewhat curiously, contestants competing for a job at a preeminent real estate empire have had to organize parties to provide a brand visibility or encourage loyal customers to buy more products.

And the show has spawned an array of imitators, one of the latest being Bravo's "Top Design."

Recent episodes of both fell into the tried-and-true and unexciting with attempts at branded integration involving event planning that fell short in ingenuity.

On the March 11 "Apprentice," contestants had to develop an original halftime show to promote GNC (trumpeted by Donald Trump as "the largest health and wellness retailer in America - by far"). But it just had little zest.

One team came up with creating giant foam GNC vitamin tablets which would successfully overcome bone maladies such as joint issues and osteoporosis as they ran around the field. It didn't look like much more than a circus.

Perhaps the best plug for the retailer in the episode came when one contestant boldly said of one sku, "This product makes peoples' lives better. How can you not love that?"

On "Top Design's" March 14 episode, the challenge was for the teams to devise an event celebrating Bacardi Limon. The show gave the brand a plug as an "upscale brand" with a "sensorial" tone, but otherwise failed to create much excitement.

The glitterati may have appreciated one party decoration where Bacardi bottles were used to build a chandelier, but it seems a bit too high-falutin for the average viewer (both the GNC and Bacardi Limon appearances were named top product placements of the week, according to measurement firm iTVX).

There is some good news, both for viewers and even Trump himself. "The Apprentice" probably will be off the air come May - a move a bored Trump will likely welcome. If he's as competitive as he claims, it must be hard to watch his now-unimaginative and unappealing show founder. But he's had a good enough run to merit a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Here's hoping he returns to "Saturday Night Live" next fall when the show's over to spoof both himself and the incessant product pitches on "The Apprentice."

As for "Top Design" and the other Bravo shows claiming to find the next "Top" expert in a field, it would be a step forward if producers looked for challenges outside of throwing big bashes.