Fox Previews ‘Lone Star’ on iPad, in ‘Vanity Fair,’ via Cruise Lines, Hotels

Fox is previewing its upcoming oil drama Lone Star via a Vanity Fair app on the iPad - the first time, Fox says, that a TV pilot has been made available on the device.

Fox is giving Lone Star a preview blitz: in addition to the Vanity Fair iPad app which will allow users to view the pilot, the October issue of Vanity Fair sent to subscribers in New York and Los Angeles (and newsstand copies in New York) will contain a DVD with the first episode of the show. The first episode will be screened in hotel rooms at chains like Starwood and Ritz-Carlton via the Hotel Network and on an internal network on Princess Cruises, and it will also run on some Virgin America, Delta and JetBlue flights, reports The New York Times.

The DVD in Vanity Fair will also include a trailer for the upcoming film Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.

Fox-affiliated stations will also host screenings of Lone Star for the public.

Making a Shady Character Likable through Pre-screening

Lone Star is about a man leading dual lives: he has a wife from an oil-rich family in Houston, and a girlfriend in Midland where he goes by a different name. Still, he is a sympathetic character and viewers want him to succeed in both worlds - yet that is difficult to explain to viewers who haven’t seen the show. “You have to watch it to feel it,” explains Joe Early, Fox’s president of marketing and communications.

“Lone Star is a lush, sophisticated, sexy drama full of complex characters, which makes Vanity Fair a perfect promotional partner,” Early says. “It’s the kind of story you could find in the magazine, and we believe their readers will enjoy the series.”

The network’s goal - similar to what it did with Glee last year - is to have Lone Star seen by as many people as possible, he adds.

Lone Star will debut on Fox on Sept. 20.

Fox No. 1 for the Season

Fox finished the 2009-2010 season at No. 1 for the sixth consecutive year - a broadcast television industry record, Fox claims. It was also tops in the Adults 18-34 and Teen demographics.