Martha Stewart and Dennis Basso Team Up for QVC

Martha Stewart and Dennis Basso are adding a new dimension to their 30-year friendship by appearing in QVC advertising that will be splashed on two gigantic billboards in New York City. Debuting on Nov. 11, the billboards will be up for six weeks during the key holiday selling period. Designed to play up holiday fashion and shopping on QVC, the billboards will be situated at 1530 Broadway between West 44^th and 45^th Streets, and at 41^st Street and Seventh Avenue.

Although both Stewart and Basso have passed the retirement age, neither is taking their feet off the accelerator, so to speak. Emphasizing that he and Stewart are “real friends,” the designer said there was plenty of instruction during the photo shoot for the campaign. “We were joking around and Martha had no problem telling me to pay attention and to listen to what the photographer was telling us,” Basso said. “That takes away any of the anxiety in that type of situation. She’s a pro and she’s a beautiful woman.”

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Stewart was suited up in a winter white ensemble and pearls from Basso’s line for QVC. The ads are in a high-traffic area, considering more than 205,554 pedestrians passed through Times Square last November and 218,054 people did so last December, according to the Times Square Alliance. Stewart said, “It’s so much fun to be on a QVC billboard in Times Square just in time for the holidays.”

Stewart and Basso have joined forces professionally before. Nearly a year ago, the lifestyle and media maven helped the designer cut the ribbon for the opening of his 57^th Street store. And two years ago Stewart harked back to her early days as a model by wearing the finale look and accompanying the designer on the runway at his fashion show at The Pierre Hotel.

With a namesake label of her own that offers fashion apparel, gardening tools, home decor and other products, the 83-year-old Stewart is a familiar face around QVC. She first took to the airwaves for QVC more than 30 years ago, according to a QVC spokesperson. In April, she joined Queen Latifah, Naomi Watts and other prominent women who are age 50 or up in its “Quintessential 50” collective, which is part of “The Age of Possibility” agenda.

The former caterer and “Just Desserts” author has long understood the economic might of having mass appeal. In 1988 Stewart was hired by Kmart as a lifestyle consultant, and the following year she stamped her name on home products with the-then 2,200-unit chain. QVC isn’t the only way that Stewart is keeping fans entertained at home. The just-out documentary about Stewart’s life that includes her infidelity to her ex-husband Andy has been getting a lot of attention. Andy Stewart, who serves as publisher emeritus at Fieldstone Publishing, could not be reached for comment Monday.

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