87 posts tagged “2008”

This is no surprise given the promotions that Sen. Obama has been getting in the media: ‘Obama elicits more excitement than McCain’, according to USA Today.
   I want to be the voice of reason but 21 years in communications tell me that this is important. If your brand, personal or organizational, elicits excitement among its constituents, then you have a greater chance of mobilizing those people when you need them.
   Even when it comes to politics, to get messages across to voters, one has to resort to the tried and trusted techniques of branding and marketing.
   There are few in the present generations who will, as many bloggers do, investigate someone’s voting record or dig deeply into their histories. It would be nice to say that presidents are not elected based on how much excitement they can generate. Or that we should place greater emphasis on other qualities like honour and sincerity.
   While some might point to exceptions, such as the Tory victory in the UK of 1992, I beg to differ. That campaign was hard fought by the Conservatives and depended on party unity—which was sorely lacking in 1997 when Tony Blair was elected. The National victory in New Zealand of 1990 was a result of the cry for change and the belief that Labour was leaderless.
   And the cry for change is such a powerful message in politics, because politicians understand our nature: even the vaguest change is better than the strongest, best defined policies if a party has been in power for too long.
   Labour in the UK in 1997, National in New Zealand in 1990, Labour in New Zealand in 1999, Clinton in 1992—all these are examples of that message. And that, too, “excites”.
   Sen. McCain should not pursue an excitement route himself, but he should capitalize on mistakes that the Obama campaign is making with greater regularity. The New Yorker gaffe—where Sen. Obama felt the need to comment rather than appear presidential and above satire—was an opportunity missed. Meanwhile, I wonder if people appreciate the maverick, go-it-alone style of John McCain, which plays well in the Senate, but could be symptomatic of future Cabinet divisiveness under his administration.
   A winner is by no means clear, and a week remains a long time in politics. Months, as Sen. Clinton will attest as she went from dead cert to second-best, are an eternity.

Great news! Flight of the Conchords has received three Emmy nods for directing, writing, and original music and lyrics. It didn’t get an Emmy nomination for best comedy series, which I think is a sin.
   Not bad for a show conceived by a bunch of Kiwis, even if it did take American money and HBO to get it off the ground.
   And thank goodness it did—how else would it have become so widely received? I can’t see a TV3- or TVNZ-funded Conchords cracking the US market—it would, like Outrageous Fortune, have been remade at best.
   Good luck to Bret, Jemaine and the others associated with the show.

I thought this was awesome news in that the photographer, Giuliano Bekor, shot regularly for Lucire. From the Lucire ‘Insider’ section.

Giuliano Bekor, whose credits include numerous Lucire shoots, photographed Hayden Panettiere for her 2008 Candie’s print campaign.

Hayden Panettiere will star in Candie’s back to school 2008 television, print and online advertising campaign, according to the company. Hayden, who is known as an award-winning actress, activist and star of NBC’s hit television series Heroes can now add recording artist to her résumé.
   Following last year’s marketing campaign with Grammy-award winning artist Fergie, the new fall TV commercial will be a direct lift from Panettiere’s first music video, ‘Wake Up Call’, which was styled using Candie’s apparel, footwear and accessories.
   This is Panettiere’s second season with the brand.
   To coincide with TV, a print campaign will feature Panettiere in a variety of sexy and sweet vignettes as she playfully poses with a piano, behind a beaded curtain and in a club-like setting among others. The ‘Wake Up Call’ video and the Candie’s commercial were shot in Los Angeles by famed music video director Chris Applebaum and the print campaign was shot by fashion photographer Giuliano Bekor, whose credits include Lucire, and created by the Iconix in-house marketing team.
   Fans can listen to ‘Wake Up Call’ exclusively at www.candies.com and www.kohls.com/inspire (streaming only) beginning today. The single will be available for download on iTunes beginning August 5. The single is being released by Hollywood Records.

More casting announcements are emerging from Hollywood about the American re-remake of Life on Mars.
   Jonathan Murphy (formerly Ronnie of October Road) has been cast as Det Chris Skelton, which means David E. Kelley’s successors on the programme have brought back both Chris and Ray—two characters missing from the first attempt at remaking the British series.
   The Hollywood Reporter’s description of Chris is familiar: ‘a jittery young detective who is new to the department.’
   It may mean that the redo will try to forge relationships between Sam Tyler and the rest of the department akin to the original’s.

I had wondered which marque would get to have its entire range from one period all represented on Autocade. It dawned on me that it is Jaguar, today.

Jaguar X-type. 2001 to date (prod. under 300,000 approx.). 4-door saloon, 5-door estate. F/F, F/A, 2099, 2495, 2967 cm³ (V6 DOHC), 1998, 2198 cm³ diesel (4 cyl. DOHC). Ford Mondeo (CD132)-based small Jaguar, developed by Ford in Dearborn and presented to Jaguar management as a fait accompli. Failed to fit in with Jaguar design direction and wound up cannibalizing XJ sales. Seen as backward in a segment that wanted modernity; dynamically, actually poorer than the much-cheaper Ford. Most cars had too much standard equipment and too high a price, and the Mondeo-in-drag rumour spread very far; yet Jaguar management had to defend it. Not really a descendant of the Jaguar 2·4, no matter what Ford management wished. Never made much of a dent in BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz sales. Estate added 2004. UK deleted most petrol engines from line-up in 2007 except 3·0-litre for Estate. Range deleted from US market for 2008, despite arrival of facelifted model that year.

Jaguar XF. 2007 to date (prod. unknown). 4-door saloon. F/R, 2720 cm³ diesel, 2967 cm³ petrol (V6 DOHC), 4196 cm³ (V8 DOHC). Jaguar finally got a contemporary close-coupled sporting saloon rather than the retro-styled barges of decades past. First Jaguar saloon under head of design Ian Callum. Successfully evoked image of Mk II. Not the most modern under the skin compared with German rivals but a strong performer thanks to shared suspension design with XK. Initial tests indicate car is thirsty. Supercharger on SV8 model. 
 

Jaguar XJ6/Jaguar XJ8/Jaguar XJR (X350). 2002 to date (prod. unknown). 4-door saloon. F/R, 2720 cm³ diesel, 2967 cm³ petrol (V6 DOHC), 3555, 4196 cm³ (V8 DOHC). All-new XJ series with aluminium panels, hampered by looking too much like its predecessor—which in turn looked too much like the 1968 XJ6. Last of the late Geoff Lawson’s designs to be released. Much bigger, with proper rear space, but alongside Mercedes Benz S-Klasse and BMW 7er-Reihe, perceived as old hat despite being technologically advanced in many respects. Facelift with addition of side vents in front wings in 2007.

Jaguar XK/Jaguar XKR. 2006 to date (prod. unknown). 3-door coupé, 2-door convertible. F/R, 3498, 4196 cm³ (V8 DOHC). Attractive, all-new XK has aluminium monocoque chassis. While engines (regular, supercharged) are less advanced than German competition’s, light weight helps overall performance. Bonnet is “deployed” to protect pedestrians if struck, raising above a certain level. Modern styling by Ian Callum, shaking off retro style, closely related to Aluminium Lightweight Coupé concept. Entry-level 3·5-litre introduced 2007.

Here were the 80 lovely ladies in their national costume at Miss Universe 2008.

   This must be a first for the pageant (at least in my memory) that it has had two English-born hosts—Jerry Springer from London and Melanie Brown from Leeds.

[Cross-posted] Miss Venezuela, Dayana Mendoza, has won Miss Universe 2008, with Miss Colombia, Taliana Vargas, runner-up. Dominican Republic, Russia and Mexico rounded off the top five.
   Miss Mendoza, 20, hails from Caracas, and is already a model represented by Élite Model Management.
   The 57th Miss Universe contest was held in the coastal town of Nha Trang, Khánh Hòa, Vietnam, during the morning of July 14. It was broadcast live on Sunday night to American audiences.
   The show was compèred by Jerry Springer, who had hosted Miss World in the past. Melanie Brown, formerly of the Spice Girls, co-hosted and sang during the telecast.
   The judges were Donald Trump, Jr, Roberto Cavalli, Nadine Velazquez, Jennifer Hawkins, Louis Licari, John Nguyen, Joseph Cinque, Eesha Koppikhar and Taryn Rose.
  Special awards went to Miss El Salvador (Miss Congeniality) and Miss Thailand (Best in National Costume, decided by online voting).

I enjoy these behind-the-scenes design stories a lot, and check out the video of the designer drawing the new BMW 7-series (F01). From Lucire.

 

This is looking very, very good. Then again, fast editing made the Pierce Brosnan Bonds look good, too. But I think Daniel Craig will pull this off very well.

[Cross-posted] Miss New Zealand, Samantha Powell, flew out to Vietnam a couple of weeks ago and the Fairfax Press gave her a bit of a boost yesterday in the local media. It’s in stark contrast to the hatchet job the same publishing group gave her predecessor, Laural Barrett, last year.
   If you head to the Miss Universe site now, there is a good selection of images, plus Sam’s video interview. The more casual shots are the better ones, in my opinion—having photographed her myself there’s a good, real energy about her.
   But it’s hard to be negative about any of the shots of any of the contestants: we are talking Miss Universe here.
   The contestants get to Miss Universe and are given a photo shoot and their video interview fairly early on.
   I have had a brief email from Sam after her arrival and she is loving it. Both pageant director Val Lott and I agree that nothing seems to faze her.