Burnett

AOL has announced five big-name sponsors for "Gold Rush," its new multiplatform reality show.

The online/offline TV-based game/contest/reality show, developed by AOL and reality show pioneer Mark Burnett, will be sponsored by Best Buy, Chevrolet, Coca-Cola Zero, T-Mobile and Washington Mutual, reports ClickZ. Sponsor brands will be integrated into the show, centered on a weekly video episode on AOL.com. The portal is pulling in nearly $20 million from the sponsors, writes AdWeek, citing sources familiar with the negotiations; each sponsor will also run an extensive ad campaign across AOL sites, including inventory within the show's video content.

Competitors will go on an online scavenger hunt across the AOL network and hunt for more clues on CBS prime time TV shows, commercials and magazines. Winners will take part in real-world, reality-TV-like competitions, looking for $100,000 in gold - and eventually for $1 million.

Each sponsor will be integrated into online game play and the offline gold-discovery aspects of the game. AOL said producers have worked closely sponsors to achieve their marketing objectives.

"All of our sponsors will be integrally woven into the challenges, and were given the opportunity to shape those challenges with the creative team," Janet Balis, SVP of sales development at AOL, is quoted by MediaPost as saying.