TVSquad

I've always enjoyed jingles, you know, those catchy commercial tunes that get in your head and never leave. "Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun." See, after all these years, it's still there. I wonder if Gene Simmons would have liked that McDonald's jingle?

We'll soon find out what the Kiss star likes in musical commercial craftsmanship because Gene Simmons has been tapped as one of the judges on the CBS reality show Jingles. It's a competition show, from producer Mark Burnett, he of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader, Survivor and The Apprentice fame. We'll just forget about the ones that didn't fly, like On the Lot (that was painful to watch), Pirate Master (unwatchable) and Rock Star: INXS (truly a train wreck).

Jingles should be pretty challenging for contestants; it's hard to fake it when it comes to writing words and lyrics. The winner gets a contract with an advertising agency and $100,000.

In addition to Gene Simmons, ad execs Linda Kaplan Thaler and Julie Roehm will make up the judging tribunal. Former American Idol performer, Kimberly Caldwell, will be the host and will undoubtedly use her pipes with the best of the jingles. Or so we hope.

As for Mr. Simmons, I'm sure he'll be blunt and brutally honest with the jingle contestants, a truly Cowell-esque performance.

For Cher's former flame, Jingles is the latest reality effort for Gene Simmons. In 2005, he did an "educational" series called Rock School for VH1, and more recently he's been starring on A&E's Gene Simmons: Family Jewels and was an early exit on NBC's The Celebrity Apprentice. I've enjoyed his non-reality work more, like his guesting on Ugly Betty as Amanda's fake daddy.