The premise of Gossip Girl goes beyond simple teen power-jockeying.  The show is narrated by Gossip Girl, an unidentified female with an obsession for discussing the happenings of New York’s prep school elite, and posting the news and photos on her site of the same name.  Students constantly check the site on their computers and cell phones, and receive updates about the most mundane details, like the show’s main character, Serena van der Woodsen, and her appearance at a party she wasn’t invited to.

The show sets up The CW for a brilliant marketing scheme that utilizes the same tools as the kids on the show, and offers advertisers endless opportunities.  Gossip Girl combos its show with a social networking site that has a retail component and virtual world.  Fans of the show, in other words, can live exactly like the characters.

Dawn Ostroff, President of The CW, said on CNBC, “You can go into a room of Gossip Girl and go over to an iPod sitting on the desk, and that’s how you’re going to see all the music that was played on the show.  Or go into the closet and see the different clothes and select different things to buy.”

The CW also features original programming ads to complement the show: “Content-wraps,” or brands woven into shows, were introduced last year, and this fall the network is introducing 5-second ads called “CWuickies,” and a trend-watching show called CW Now. 

The first episode of Gossip Girl, which aired Wednesday, was sponsored by Wal-Mart and had three segments about Halo 3, launching September 25th. 

Guy Rancourt of Hill Holiday, a communications agency, said on CNBC, “As advertisers, what we’re trying to do is make sure people are seeing our spots, so what (The CW) has done with that has been really successful.  I would call them innovators.”