• by Karl Greenberg , December 21, 2007

There's a new product-placement deal on "The Apprentice," the Donald Trump swagger-fest that has reeled in brands like GM's Pontiac--whose Solstice was central to one episode's plot--and Gillette's Fusion razor.

The latest is Kodak, whose All-in-One (AiO) printer will be a plot device, literally and figuratively, during the Jan. 17 airing of the NBC show, "The Celebrity Apprentice."

During that episode, the celebrity contestants will have to create a Kodak-branded mobile printing station that has the contestants demonstrating the AiO Printing System to the hoi polloi in New York City.

Kodak says the effort--aimed at entrepreneurs, small office and home office owners--aims to show, within the context of the program, how consumers can save money because of the system. Kodak says the AiO Printing System reverses the usual paradigm of selling the machine cheap and the refills at a premium. The company uses "Free yourself from the inkopoly" as a theme line. It sells color refills for $15 and black-and-white for around $10.

"The very essence of 'The Apprentice' is about proving your team has a stronger value proposition than the competition, and our integration with the show provides a new way for us to give customers a deeper understanding of how we have removed the biggest barrier to printing--high-cost ink," said Jeff Hayzlett, chief business development officer and vice president of Kodak, in a release.

The effort includes a microsite showing aspects of the AiO printers featured on the episode and a sweepstakes promotion dangling a chance to win a printer signed by Trump. Kodak.com/go/apprentice will have information about the show, links to Kodak and "Apprentice," to a blog, "Thank God It's Inkjet Friday," and an area where one can vote for one's favorite contestant.

The Rochester, N.Y.-based company, which recently inked a six-year sponsorship deal with the PGA Tour, launched its line of inkjets this year and signed distribution deals for the inkjets with Circuit City and Sam's Club in the U.S., and Wal-Mart in Canada. The company hopes to sell half a million units this year.