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AOL Partners with Marlo Thomas to Launch Content-Rich Site MarloThomas.com


WEBWIRE

Exclusive Online Home for Original Content and Access to Iconic Entertainer and Author

New York, N.Y. – AOL, in partnership with legendary actress, author and activist Marlo Thomas, launched a new site today that brings Marlo online, giving her the opportunity to broaden the conversation she has been having with women throughout her career. Offering an exciting mix of original videos; live, two-way conversations; and other innovative programming, MarloThomas.com will invite women everywhere to connect with Marlo personally in an online community devoted to sharing. “It’s not about me,” says Marlo, quoting the site’s motto, “it’s about you and me.” AOL, building on its strategy to produce premium original content both internally and through partnering with established, trusted brands, is thrilled to be delivering Marlo’s content to a large, receptive audience of women.

“Marlo Thomas has helped define an empowered world for women, created ground breaking content for children, and produced best-selling books that improve and inspire people’s lives. AOL is delighted to partner with Marlo to bring her content and creativity to the 250 million global consumers of AOL*,” said Tim Armstrong, Chairman and CEO of AOL. “Marlo continues to have a big impact on families and health through her work at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital and we expect her to have just as significant an impact on our audience.”

Beginning with her landmark TV series That Girl; through the album, book and television special Free to Be... You and Me; her six books; and her ongoing work with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Marlo has for decades held a unique place in women’s hearts as a trusted role model and beloved cultural icon. Through the launch of MarloThomas.com, co-developed with AOL, she is committed to continuing that relationship on a broader, multi-media platform. This exclusive online destination connects women worldwide and provides an opportunity for them to interact with one another, weigh in on common themes, become better informed, share a laugh and have some fun. Visitors will interact directly with Marlo through her video updates, blog posts, newsletter and associated Facebook and Twitter pages. The rich, original content on MarloThomas.com will be infused with Marlo’s signature spark, curiosity and sense of humor. Video features, engaging conversations, and user-submitted content will be important aspects of the site, which launches days before Marlo’s sixth book, and only memoir, Growing Up Laughing: My Story and the Story of Funny (Hyperion Books) hits bookstores on September 28th.

“I could not be more excited about partnering with AOL,” said Marlo Thomas. “The idea for this site has been humming in my head for years, and to bring it to fruition in partnership with a company that shares my core values of informing, entertaining and connecting the world is an absolute joy. I am delighted to provide a platform in which a community of women can come together and share their stories, learn from one another and have some fun.”

The video channel on MarloThomas.com, to be updated each day with new, original content, reflects the deep online experience that users will find at the site. Video features include:

* Mondays with Marlo (a live streaming chat)
* The Hero Next Door (profiles of women who are doing extraordinary things in their communities)
* Girls Night Out (candid conversations amongst a diverse group of women, moderated by Marlo, covering a range of topics from health and romance to starting a new career and personal finances)
* Auntie Marlo and Kate (Marlo and her niece explore issues from the point of view of their own generation)
* I Have to Know (Marlo in the park, mall, anywhere, asking questions of people about love, family, communication, money...)
* Your Turn (A thread that begins with Marlo telling a personal story in her own home and invites women to take their turn to tell their own stories).

Additionally, user-submitted video will have a home in this area of the site.

A co-creation between AOL and Marlo Thomas, MarloThomas.com is part of AOL’s Lifestyle group and will share promotion with relevant AOL sites. Advertising on the site will be sold by AOL.

About AOL
AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) is a leading global Web services company with an extensive suite of brands and offerings and a substantial worldwide audience. AOL’s business spans online content, products and services that the company offers to consumers, publishers and advertisers. AOL is focused on attracting and engaging consumers and providing valuable online advertising services on both AOL’s owned and operated properties and third-party websites. In addition, AOL operates one of the largest Internet subscription access services in the United States, which serves as a valuable distribution channel for AOL’s consumer offerings.

About Marlo Thomas
Marlo Thomas is an award-winning actress, author and activist whose body of work continues to have an impact on American entertainment and culture. She has been honored with four Emmy Awards, the Peabody, a Golden Globe, a Grammy and has been inducted into the Broadcasting Hall of Fame.This month, she releases her sixth book--and only memoir--Growing Up Laughing: My Story and the Story of Funny, and launches her own website, MarloThomas.com, in partnership with AOL. Marlo will be seen, along with Demi Moore and Miley Cyrus, in the upcoming film LOL: Laughing Out Loud that is currently in post production.

Ms. Thomas burst onto the scene in television’s That Girl, which broke new ground for independent women everywhere, and which she also conceived and produced. Her pioneering spirit continued with her creation of the landmark children’s book, record and TV special, Free to Be... You and Me, and she has remained a constant presence on television (Ugly Betty, Law & Order and Friends) and on and off-Broadway.

Ms. Thomas is the National Outreach Director for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, which was founded by her father, Danny Thomas, in 1962. Her tireless efforts and ingenuity are behind countless fundraising and awareness campaigns designed to educate the public about the pioneering and life-saving work being done every day at St. Jude--work that impacts the lives of children in communities across America.

Ms. Thomas lives in New York with her husband, Phil Donahue.

*comScore Media Metrix July 2010



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