By SAMANTHA ETTUS
28-SEP-05

History was made this week as two iconic personal brands launched their respective seasons of The Apprentice. In both cases, the intense pressure for ratings is palpable: Donald Trump is battling the ghost of last season's dropoff, relying on a return to his original format of men vs. women, while Martha Stewart has much to prove as she hosts her first ever primetime show. Alas, the ratings for both premiere episodes were disappointing, as Stewart's version took in 7.7 million viewers on its first Wednesday night and Trump's boasted 9.9 million in its Thursday night slot. But there is a silver lining for both Martha and The Donald in their disappointing starts: it is far better for ratings to improve steadily than to start out strong and plummet. And with 15 contestants left on each version of The Apprentice, there is still plenty of time for each show to gain momentum.

Donald Trump
Trump's poor initial ratings can be attributed to a backlash from season three of The Apprentice, which was roundly criticized for messing with a winning formula. Now Trump has put his reputation on the line by announcing that he personally selected this newest crop of contestants, a claim that has slyly allowed him to wash his hands of responsibility for last year's disappointing season, which pitted college grads against dropouts. The first episode of season four has already proved that Trump's casting abilities rival his business acumen, as he introduced viewers to a wide array of strong personalities with colorful and accomplished backgrounds, contestants largely worthy of claiming a seat in Trump's burgeoning empire. With the old winning formula back in place, the first episode was a fast-paced, engaging contest in which one ornery challenger, whose personality eerily resembled season two's infamous Omorosa, was summarily fired. It already appears that this season's race will shape up to be just as competitive as Trump's triumphant season one. And that's a good thing for Trump…After all, he thrives on competition, and though a successful run for Martha's knockoff will only help the original, we can bet Trump is driven to beat Martha with both the critics and the fans, making this season one that can't be missed.

Donald Trump's Celebrity A$$$ets

Martha Stewart
Stewart's Apprentice ratings landed her at a respectable but distant number two behind Lost, which was coming off a new high after winning an Emmy three days earlier. Like Trump, Stewart's first week of ratings were based on expectations rather than performance, so it remains to be seen whether viewers will tune in or out. In her first outing, Stewart appeared passionate about her new show and approachable compared to Trump, and demonstrated a warm rapport with her Omnimedia employees. Still, there were some notable exceptions to what otherwise was a smooth ride for Stewart, most conspicuous of which was her ill-advised decision to replace Trump's trademark "You're Fired" with "You just don't fit in." Whoever came up with this dull and uncreative line should indeed be fired. It's too lengthy, not remotely catchy, and conjures up memories of the prissy superiority of high school cliques. Even more contrived is the letter Stewart handwrote to her first fired contestant after she announced her clunky goodbye. Sadly, it appears that such a letter will mark the finale on each episode, an awkward and unnecessary sign-off to an otherwise engaging show. Stewart doesn't need these lame gimmicks for the series to be a success, because there are real nuggets of gold here. The content is based on creative projects of the sort Stewart presumably faces each day – a welcome and far cry from Trump's big brand MBA focused competitions. In the first episode the teams competed to adapt a well-known fairytale into a children's book, a task that highlights Stewart's unique ability to master the creative without ever losing focus on business direction. And despite the miscues, Stewart has thus far shined in her new role, giving her a good chance of surviving as Trump's apprentice.

Martha Stewart's Celebrity A$$ets

Remember: the most dependable road to the top is to treat your brand as your greatest asset.

(Samantha Ettus is the author of "The Experts' Guide to 100 Things Everyone Should Know How to Do" (Random House). Contact her at Samantha@celebrityassets.com.)