Donald Trump's Celebrity Apprentice brags in full-page ads

Today's New York Times contains a full-page ad for Donald Trump's The Celebrity Apprentice. Right below a picture of his wildly unattractive visage, we read -- in italics and bold -- that "Once again, Donald Trump's 'The Apprentice' comes out on top," followed by some pretty obscure statistics cherry-picked to show that the show is actually a hit: #1 among 18 to 49-year-old adults on Thursday nights three times, for example.

The ad also brags about the ratings success of the first season of Trump's show -- which was way back in 2004. Taking out full-page ads to rest on your laurels is a pretty interesting marketing strategy.

What's interesting is that, by more objective standards, The Celebrity Apprentice is a flop. PerezHilton reported that the number of viewers watching the show declined a shocking 26% from its premier to its second episode. The 8.2 million viewers the show attracted in its second week was less than half of what the original Apprentice got in its prime.

Here's a tip to NBC and "Mr. Trump": if you have to take out full-page ads with obscure statistics to try to convince people that your show is a hit, your show is a flop.

In a related story, Trump Entertainment Resorts (NASDAQ: TRMP) closed on Tuesday at $3.43 -- a year ago it was trading over $17 a share. Hey Donald, put that in your full-page ad.