- Mike Shields, Mediaweek

MySpace has snagged a slew of new advertisers for the second season of online series Married on MySpace, which kicks off Mar. 9. Joining last season’s sponsor JCPenney are HP, Fox Searchlight (for the movie Our Family Wedding), Hearst and The Knot.

During its first season, Married became something of a sleeper hit for the embattled social network. The reality series allows MySpace’s audience to vote for an engaged couple and then decide on various elements of their wedding—everything fromthe bride’s dress to the style of photography. Last season, Married episodes averaged over 1 million views each, generating 15 million views overall. The couple from season one ended up with their own show on Si TV. Fans have already cast over 276,000 votes to pick the couple for season two.

According to Jason Kirk, MySpace’s vp of video and entertainment, while Married might not seem an obvious fit for MySpace’s youthful audience, “a lot of people get married in their 20s and we reach a lot of people in their 20s.” he said. “It is so easy to paint a picture from the outside of what MySpace is about. But people in this demo like reality TV regardless of the age of the people in the show. Last year our users really connect[ed] and rooted for this couple.”

This season, said Kirk, the plan is to add more “risk” elements to the show, and to focus more on the couple’s families.

HP’s sponsorship will allow the company to demonstrate its products (this season’s couple will be seen using an HP printer) and reach a younger demo, said Lori Lorenz, HP’s director of business development. “Our printers our about key life events, like marriage, having babies, vacations. The MySpace audience is very appealing to us. They store memories differently, so this is a really great way to show the relevancy of printing photos and images. These people are our next generation of mothers.”