SUMMER FUN Americans rate theme parks as the top destination spot for vacation. The Florida theme parks had 42.6 million visitors in '99, Las Vegas had 33.8mill, Hawaii 7 mill, and all ship cruises combined 6 mill.
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CORP. ART TARGETS KIDS. A year long Federal Trade Commission study, finds that Corp. Art targets ads to underage teens for its adult only violent music, movies, computer and video-games. The report was based in large part on the companies' own marketing and media plans. Of 44 'R' for violence films, 35 were aimed at under age youths. Of 55 recordings with parental warnings about one fourth were aimed at teens, and of 118 'mature' rated games 83 were promoted to children. Ads for these were on TV geared for kids like Xena Warrior Princess, or on line sites like Seventeen and happypuppy.com. (WSJ)
THEATRES OVERBUILT. A number of movie chains are in serious financial problems including Lowes Cineplex Entertainment Corp., UA Theater Co. AMC Entertainment Inc., etc. It's rumored that 5 of the 6 biggest chains could file for bankruptcy protection soon. The reason for all the consternation is overbuilding of theaters between 1990-99 with the number of theaters jumping from 24,000 to 37,000. Customers went to the new theaters and abandoned the old. Now there are an estimated 4 - 5,000 screens too many. All this at a time when Hollywood films are in a slump. Look for many older theaters to be dumped and strangely enough their total lack of architectural charm won't help preserve them. (assorted reports)
WHINERS AND LOSERS: Ralph Nader, Green party candidate, did a TV ad that made fun of both parties by mimicing the MasterCard "Priceless Moments" TV campaign. Those are the ones that say kids' glove $79, day at the ballpark $50, time together priceless! MasterCard went to court to stop them claiming that airing of the ad would damage them. The NY Federal Judge wisely ruled that it would not. I've seen the ad and love it. See it if you can...
And George Lucas has fired actor Kenny Baker who portrayed R2-D2 in the first 4 Star Wars movies. He's being replaced by a robot - a computer. "Of course I am disappointed. George Lucas always told me that R2-D2 really came alive when I was inside him. If they don't use human beings, these movies are in danger of looking like Disney cartoons."(Manchester Guardian)
SUMMER FUN Americans rate theme parks as the top destination spot for vacation. The Florida theme parks had 42.6 million visitors in '99, Las Vegas had 33.8mill, Hawaii 7 mill, and all ship cruises combined 6 mill.
ADS AREN'T ADDING UP. A recent article in Texas Technology, "Dot Bombs" spells out in detail why advertisng on the internet doesn't work and is a waste of millions. (Note that most dot coms advertise on the radio or TV!) The problem is surfers hate the ads, seldom stay on a page for any length of time, and there are too many sites and too many hours in the day to get good coverage. Also the ads make pages much slower to load. UNLESS the net becomes a haven for a handfull of companies only, ads may not be the future of the net. Musea has always felt ads were not the future of anything... Factoid: of the 2.1 billion websites, 70% are in English.
CAMP CHAMP. After DJ-ing for 30 years at KVIL, Ron Chapman has moved to KLUV-FM. Ron is one of the few real DJ's left in this town. We salute his longevity in radio a medium that is anything but stable. Congratulations on 30 years!
CITY PLANNING. Solar energy panels are bringing electricity to 200 Navajo homes, many for the first time. 10,000-30,000 Navajos live without electricity. Solar power seems to be a natural for the Southwest though the technology is expensive and the results are limited. For example a normal sized refrigerator will gobble up all the power. (DMN N. Martin)
CITY PLANNING 2. 'Why do companies bother to advertise when they do stuff this stupid' dept. Goes to Tiffany & Co. When building a ritzy store in Walnut Creek CA, the developer decided to sacrifice a 200 year old oak for the parking garage. Residents protested and the mess remains unresolved. Musea says there should be a federal law that says NO ONE can cut down any TREE over 100 years old without very good reason. Oh and Tiffany is our Chump of the Month! (Newsweek)
BROADWAY PREVIEW. The season on Broadway is once again filled with repeats and safe bets: The Rocky Horror Show, The Full Monty, Jane Eyre, a new Neil Simon, a revival of Gore Vidal's The Best Man, and the one woman show - The Search For Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe; Seussical, musical based on Dr., Seuss characters, and not much else. New Yorker critic John Lahr says, "There's not any serious new drama planned for Broadway that I can see. There are some very good musicals and theatrical events happening out of town, but a lot of the Broadway shows are mindless. I won't even necessarily go to them all. Broadway has become a follower rather than a leader of popular culture." (USA Today)
THE REST OF THE NEWS STORY: Next time you see a commercial for saving starving children, know this - 21 million children die each year because of the debt obligations Third World governments owe the US and others. And if the richest nations called off this debt (it amounts to a penny a day when spread out over 20 years) these children's lives could be saved. The debt is 350 bill owed by the world's 52 poorest countries. Musician Bono has pleaded for the end of this debt. We salute him and agree with him. (World Press Review)
Reports gathered by Alden Scott Crow and Musea. Stay revolutionary!