Donald Trump is No Stranger to Beauty Pageants

Donald Trump's latest reality show offering, Pageant Place, is about beauty pageant winners living under one roof. It may or may not be entertaining. The truth is, though, that Donald Trump has already done a reality show about a beauty pageant. It was called The Apprentice.

The Apprentice was like a beauty pageant in many ways. The contestants that were more physically attractive typically bonded with each other and marginalized the less attractive ones. For examples, see past contestants who were guilty of being overweight or lacking in social skills. They were kept on long enough to raise the hackles of the other contestants, then banished from the competition.

Some female contestants were able to stay on longer due to Trump's obvious attraction to them. Jen M was an example of this. It seemed like when the decision could go either way, Trump erred on the side of keeping the eye candy around.

The beauty pageant effect didn't work quite so well for the men. Tarek, the pretty boy, drew more derision from Trump based on his appearance. Carey from this past season rocked the runway wearing what can only be described as a glorified Speedo. Trump did a poor job of concealing his disgust for Carey's sexual orientation, and Carey's good looks seemed to add to the bias.

Just as beauty pageants inflate their verbiage with phrases like "scholarship competition" and "role models for young women", Trump spun the hell out of The Apprentice. He referred to it as an "interview process", with the winner being offered the "opportunity of a lifetime".

Past female contestants on The Apprentice used their looks to try to win tasks, with varying results. Many times in the marketing tasks their appearance would help them. In the most recent season, however, an all-female team put on short shorts and rollerblades to work the crowd, and it backfired. Just like a pageant contestant who looks great but blows the interview, their looks weren't enough to save their weak marketing strategy.

Appearance is very important in business, and Trump's involvement with beauty pageants is really a logical thing.

The ultimate Apprentice and beauty pageant ideal, Ivanka, has been at his side in the past few seasons of the Apprentice. She provides a unique blend of Carolyn-style toughness and supermodel poise, and is incredibly articulate. She could enter either an Apprentice-style competition or a beauty pageant and waste the competition. Naturally, she'll never have to.

Donald Trump's latest reality show offering will most likely be a success, as it follows a formula that has certainly worked for him in the past.