Leprechaun Lexicon

The opening day ceremonies of the Monorail at Disneyland.



Special thanks to Darin McClure for sharing.

The Four Horsemen.

A Raven.

Alfred Hitchcock.

Chapman University's first District 15 winning NSAC team.

Humanvelopes.

Fifth in the nation.

American Advertising Federation.

AAF.

More will be revealed.

I was taking pictures of this guy on Friday in Palm Springs when who should appear out of nowhere but...The Raven!

Look closely. Click on the photo if necessary.

You will see two birds. I was taking pictures of the one whose feet are resting on the bird feeder.

Do you see his legs? They are not easily visible thanks to Mr. Showboat, "The Raven," who just had to swoop into the frame, stealing the scene.

Steal the scene he did. Without question, this is the luckiest, most perfect photo I have ever taken, and its timing is no small coincidence, because there is no such thing as coincidences, small, medium, or large.

What do you think about that, Zack Marker?

I had no intention this evening of buying The Politician, the new biography of John Edwards by Andrew Young. Rather, I was shopping for ice cream for my mother, who had been taken by paramedics to Hoag Hospital earlier in the day and is now home resting, when I came upon a free standing display at Ralphs supermarket in Eastbluff Village.

The yellow "25% off" sticker in the frozen foods section proved to be an irresistible impulse buy. No doubt some smart marketer saw me coming.

Over the weekend about half of Chapman University's National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) team, all members of Chapman Ad Club, trekked to Las Vegas for, um, "research." Last night this photo of the group, taken in front of the Bellagio where they had rented a penthouse suite, appeared in Matt Nagel's Twitter.

What a beautiful group, wouldn't you say?

There are few gathering spots in Orange County that are both as aesthetically pleasing and as welcoming to guests as Fashion Island in Newport Beach.



With its impeccable climate and its variety and multitude of merchandisers and eateries, Fashion Island offers guests a plethora of experiential opportunities.



Such as a front row seat to Monument Rising At Neiman Marcus.

We've gone from Curious George to SpongeBob SquarePants.

Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

I have before me the last issue of Nick magazine.

Thank God.

Here's just one reason I despise Nickelodeon. In some thirty pages of comics there is only one illustration of a teacher.

This, apparently, is what Nickelodeon thinks about education:



These are the words Nickelodeon put into the mouth of this prototypical teacher of theirs:

YOU NEED TO BRING SOMETHING ELSE IN FOR SHOW-AND-TELL BY TOMORROW OR YOU WILL GET AN F!

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Have you seen the new metaphor for a monument now being erected by the Irvine Company in Fashion Island?



Have you seen the inside of Halloween House, Newport Beach's newest art installation, inspired by the Spanish artist Antoni Gaudi?



Have you met Shirley Markel, just one of one my friendly neighbors on Bunya?

What's the first thing I'm going to do before Palm Springs next week?

Finish up 11 letters of recommendation.

Then those Crane & Company letters on monarch ecru stationary for last semester's Internet Com students.

Then mail advertising papers to last semester's Principles of Advertising.

Then a walk on the beach, because it'll be raining until I can next walk the beach.

Hard to imagine Ted Kennedy's Senate seat going to a Republican.

Hear the shouts of joy here in Orange County?

I love Orange County.

We had a tornado watch today.

The palm out by my front gate blew half over. Gonna have to tie it up tomorrow.

Saddened to hear about neighbor hound Millie. She was attacked today by a dog down at the beach house.

That's Millie on the left, Caitlin Lambert on the right, and Bunya Street in Eastbluff underfoot, in a picture taken eight days ago.

Get better, Millie:

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They all look over my shoulder in my Chapman University office on the top floor of Marion Knott Studios, the art museum disguised as a film school.

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You won't find me complaining about my job. No sir. Last week my colleague Joan Gladstone hosted a retreat/strategy session for the four permanent members of Chapman's Public Relations and Advertising faculty at her cliffside home in Laguna Beach.

As you can see we were sequestered in a dark room under florescent tubes. Not.

To the contrary, the setting enabled a productive and lively meeting, so effective that we stayed two hours longer than scheduled, planning, planning, planning. All to make the program better for our students.

Below, left to right: Janell Shearer, chair of the Media Arts division of Dodge College of Film and Media Arts; advertising professor Ray Roschmann; and public relations professor Joan Gladstone:

One of my favorite artists discovered on-line is Zach Wallenfang. He draws famous people for their birthdays.

Happy Birthday, Tiger Woods, from Zack Wallenfang:



Happy Birthday, Uncle Walt Disney, from Zack Wallenfang:



If you want to know more about Walt Disney, you'll definitely want to know how his story played out during the last 25 years. It ends with the death three weeks ago, on December 16, 2009,  of his nephew Roy, who died of cancer at Hoag Hospital here in Newport Beach.

This is a story set in Orange County.

The latest chapter in the saga of Walt Disney thus ended in 2009. It began 25 years earlier, in 1984, when Geraldine Laybourne took the reins of Nickelodeon. She despises Walt Disney and played the defining role in undermining, first from New York City and then ultimately from within, the magic and vision brought to this fabled company by the founder himself.

Twenty-five years in the making, the story must be told. It's time. it's time you learn the the story behind the deterioration of Walt's vision, and what you and I can be done to save it, and him, from the clutches of two women, bottom feeders at best, who conceal their characters beneath sincere smiles and masters degrees in education from Ivy League schools.

This story's time has come.

25 Years in the Making:


If you click on the image twice you can read the fine print. Ah yes The devil is in the details, as usual, the fine print. Note: I have yet to secure the rights from Forbes magazine for use of the photo.

To Entertainment Marketing Fall 2009:

I am pleased to announce the five semi-finalists for the Cecil Award in Entertainment Marketing from Fall 2009. This was an extremely difficult decision as there were four other books with which I was exceptionally impressed. Those four will receive 360 points or more for their efforts. Each of the five semi-finalists will receive 400 points. Additionally, each of the five semis must arrange to provide me with a pdf version of their plan, to maintain their Cecil eligibility, so that next year I will be able to provide more than one exemplary plan for review.

Again I want to reiterate that overall this semester's books were simply breath-taking. You all worked extremely hard and your work paid off. I am proud of you. Thank you for your creativity and diligence; I learned much from you. Next week I will post highlights from each of these books so you might appreciate some of the ideas that distinguished these plans in my evaluations.

Now then...here is what you've been waiting for.

The Fall 2009 semi-finalists for the Cecil Award for Entertainment Marketing:

Kimmy Kirkwood



Tom Arthur



Mike Alfaro



Katie Finley



Maria Delano



Merry Christmas to all, and to all...a good night.

Last year a tradition was born in Entertainment Marketing when we all gathered at The District in Old Towne Orange to toast the completion of what is generally regarded among Chapman Public Relations and Advertising majors as their capstone project: creating a comprehensive marketing plan for a Chapman student film. It is, in a word, a ballbuster.

This year the class voted on O'Hara's in the circle. That suited me just fine, so much so that from this point forward all such toasts will happen at the local Irish pub, a no-brainer. The expression on Chelsea Phillips (above) is indicative of the mood of the evening.

Below, Mike Alfaro flashes the victory sign while Michaela Morales and Robin Kim indulge in the liquid celebration.



Megan Moss and Andreas Robichaux appear glad it's over:



There's a reason Katie Jelinek, Tom Arthur, Brandon Vaughan, and Robin Kim are smiling:



Alex Loucas and victory:



Chelsea Phillips, Kim Grant, Michaela Morales, and Mike Mueller face the camera, happy and sleepy:



Megan Moss, Andreas Robichaux, Alanna Love, Lindsay Arnold, Jamie Reiff at the altar of shamrocks, roses, and empty shot glasses:



Shannon Frieser, Alyssa Schlosser, Emily Krempasky, Maria Delano, Alex Loucas, and Margaux Olverd circle a shamrock to celebrate their senior projects, also known as their calling cards to their first jobs post-Chapman:



The three amigas, Chelsea Phillips, Kimmy Kirkwood, and Elyse Mueller. What do you think? Are they glad it's over?



Is it my imagination or does Mike Alfaro have a sixth sense for a camera and a crowd?



Or are Megan and Elyse reaping the benefits of the benevolence of the camera muses?



If the muses had reason to smile on Suite 132 at Marion Knott Studios this past semester it's because they found a reason for smiling.

Her name is Kiela.

Whenever she entered the room she stole the show. She stole the show more than once, including the last day of pitches. 



The show she stole that day was her mom's. Dad was there, too. The family that promotes Cannibal Cookouts together...takes Entertainment Marketing together?



The audience was listening:



There were 40 presentations to hear.



How many of you knew that the pizza delivery man during Margaux Overld's pitch was her filmmaker?



Lindsay Arnold sets up her pitch of Chill Pill. How many know the pill is lithium?



Lindsay Arnold, for the record,  was awarded Best First Impression, based on just that. The punching bag wasn't a factor in the award, but the box was, and my reaction to the first glimpse inside:



Michael Mueller reveals the contents of his toolbox. The hanger was my favorite element:

Dea, whose name translates in Latin to Goddess, a former colleague of mine at The Disney Channel, forwarded this Starbucks "commercial" earlier today. At four minutes and four seconds it's not going to make it to Network TV.

You'll find it instead on YouTube: The Social Media video platform.

Starbucks understands.

So do you.

If you like it, pay it forward.

I like it, that's why I'm sharing it with you.

Please do the same.

For Starbucks.

A socially responsible Social Media company.



If you think this was easy...think again.

Listed below are the Entertainment Marketing students who filled the 2nd to 9th ranking in the pitch portion of your marketing plan assignment. Each of the following receive 180 points out of 200.

Tomorrow night I will announce the top vote getter in your class.

He or she will receive 200 points. It was not a tie.

So, without further fraternization by leprechauns, here are the nine that round out the top ten.

In no particular order.

Austin:



Margaux:



Jon:



Maria:



Kimmy:



Allyssa:



Mike:



Lindsay:



Andreas:



Congratulations to all, and to all a good night.

More tomorrow.