Glee shows harms of texting while driving

Don't worry, this isn't a total recap of all the latest Glee episodes. I fell off that "Gleek" bandwagon a while ago...but after reading this eonline recap of tonight's latest episode, I wish I had tuned in. Glee ended the season with addressing the new widespread dilemma of texting while driving.

The character we all love, Quinn, was in a car accident while replying to a text from Rachel and the outcome didn't look promising. Apparently, the scene has been in the works since the cast appeared on Oprah when they signed a no texting while driving contract.

Currently, our group RE.branding solutions is working with AT&T to help spread their campaign message “It Can Wait”.

AAA found that the risk for a car accident increases by 50% for those who text while driving. A shocking statistic when initial AT&T research findings show that nearly 50 percent of teens admitted that they text and drive compared to one-fifth of adult drivers.

While anti-drinking and driving messages have been around for quite a while, texting and driving is just starting to surface. The question now is how do we create success for this new message such as the drinking while driving has done?

First off, the problem of drinking while driving has been around much longer, so it's expected that it's more successful. We can start off by looking at what they've done to gain ideas and guide us to success in our new campaigns. 

For example, there’s established advocacy groups such as M.A.D.D. and S.A.D.D. which produce high-quality programs such as Shattered Dreams throughout high schools across the nation. So far, I’ve only come across a small group called D.I.A.D., Drop It and Drive, which has been established for anti-texting and driving campaigns.

 

However, AT&T has started blasting this campaign on billboards and PSA’s with the message “It Can Wait”. These short messages show short or broken texts from the deceased individual who wrecked while texting and driving.

With AT&T's campaign as well as celebrity endorsements and television scenarios, I'm confident that as time goes on the anti-texting while driving message will grow stronger. 

Need to spice up your life?

What's that? A Spice Girls reunion you say!? You may be rolling your eyes now while remembering the 1990's girl-group phenomenon, but I know in 1996 you were dancing around in your fluffy slippers and pink pj's to their breakout hit "Wannabe".

There has been talk for a Spice Girls reunion for a year or two now, with debate on whether or not a reunion tour would be profitable at all. However, past reunion tours would suggest it would be.

For example, the NKOTBSB reunion tour earned sizable profits, grossing over $40 million with 51 shows last year. Likewise, if the past is any indicator of the future, the smaller 2007/2008 Spice Girls reunion tour grossed a reported $70 million, suggesting that a larger, more publicized tour would do quite well.

Ray Waddell, Billboard Magazine employee, says that at least two decades is the ideal time to wait when beginning to market nostalgia.

"When seeking to tap into nostalgia for teens, 20 years gives those original fans time to grow up [and] get married...plus there is hopefully a little more discretionary income available," Waddell told to eonline.

However, while this idea makes sense, I feel like the girls' 2007-2008 mini-reunion could have hurt their rumored upcoming tour. While, according to Waddell, the 20-year-mark is ideal, I would think the fans who attended the last show would be less inclined to purchase tickets for a new one. Although this problem is probably only minor and could be solved by different tour cities and venues.

One thing I know, if a tour is announced, I'll be in line for tickets.

Lights, Camera, Wait.

One of the most famous super models of all time, Cindy Crawford, puts a halt on her 10-year-old daughter's modeling career.


Well, for now.


Crawford sais she was shocked to see just how much the public responded to the one picture her daughter took for Versace's new children's campaign. But with stunning looks just like her mother its really no surprise.


Right now, Kaia will have to wait until she's seventeen if she wants to continue modeling, which she's fine with.  According to her mother Kaia's response to the situation was, "I might model first because you don't have to know how to do anything, but then I want to be a baby nurse."


While I feel like Crawford made the right decision by letting her daughter choose when she comes of age, this leads to the heated debate surrounding child labor.


Some people think it should be banned all together. Some people let girls walk the runway as young as thirteen. I personally think child models and actors are fine, but there's a fine line. A line that many "stage moms" cross without any hesitation.


I think child labor laws should be strictly followed and that the children's desires be upheld with the most respect. Easier said than done in the real world. Many parents want to live their dreams through their children and reap their financial benefits leading to the exploitation of their children. Hence so many child stars who grow up with substance abuse problems due to having career-focused parents.


Thankfully, it seems in this case that Cindy Crawford has a level head on her shoulders. A trait that will hopefully be passed on to her daughter.

The 54th Annual Grammy Awards: The Good, The Bad, The Demonic...

After a week of discussing viral videos and twitter trends, it's time to bring my blogging focus back to the realm of entertainment. The Grammy Awards, which aired Sunday, proved to be just as eventful as they are every year. The stars of Hollywood came out and stirred up some good celebrity buzz, but this year instead of a giant egg incubating Lady Gaga, the public got a show from Nicki Manaj's alter ego Roman.

Here's a little Grammy recap...

The Good:

Photo courtesy of nme.com

I think almost all people could agree that honoring the late artists who passed within the past year is a classy thing to do. It not only shows respect for the deceased, but recognizes them for their lifetime of achievements brought on by following their passion for music.

Also, despite my usual disdain for artists who get win after win after win, it was heartwarming to see Adele leave with six Grammy awards, including the coveted "Record of the Year". Despite my guilty pleasure of loving catchy pop music, its refreshing to see someone who isn't a size 0, who doesn't exploit herself with over-the-top performances and who has a truly incredible a capella singing voice.

The Bad:

Ok, so there really wasn't anything too bad about this year's Grammy Awards, not even on the red carpet. Yeah, Katy Perry's hair should probably go back to black. And yeah, Fergie should have probably chosen another dress choice. But overall, no infamous Bjork incidents.

On the other hand, Sophia Grace and Rosie (see viral video post for video link) rocked the red carpet with their signature princess look looking pretty stinkin' cute.

The Demonic:

Now on to Nicki Manaj...I hate that I like her so much. While she's a good rapper and singer, her craziness is so obnoxious to me. When she first became popular, I thought her outrageous character was just an image-building move to get America's attention. But, after watching her E! True Hollywood Story, it seems as if she has always acted over-the-top, but nevertheless kudos to her for doing her own thing.

However, being true to yourself doesn't quite make rapping as your alter ego, a possessed person named Roman, acceptable in my book. In case you missed it, her exorcism-themed performance was sprinkled with dancing priests, altar boys and demonic sounding choir singers.

Although I'm not an avid church goer, or a perfect role model by any means, I am a Christian. Despite my love for the performing arts and support for artistic free-range, I really don't see why it's necessary for artists to exploit the 'wow' factor of sacrilegious performances such as this.

It has been done before,

and it will undoubtedly be done again. 

Overall, I think its just a tasteless act to get the public talking.

Its unimaginative, unoriginal and I don't think anything could persuade me otherwise.

Since the death of Osama bin Laden last year, the Navy SEALs have been thrust into the public spotlight more so than ever...giving retired Lt. Gen. James Vaught a bone to pick with the current team.

Navy SEAL Special Operations Commander Adm. Bill McRaven
confronted by retired Lt. Gen. James Vaught.
(Photo Courtesy of abcnews.go.com)

Vaught advised the current SEAL team commander to "get the hell out of the media" or else face the consequences of enemy knowledge. While reporters are not particularly a new problem the military has to deal with, the popularity of social media is. It certainly hasn't helped mitigate the spread of news stories of military stories and strategies among the general population, making it easier for this information to fall into the enemy's hands.

Courtesy of imfrance.wordpress.com

For example, according to the Huffington Post, the Sunday of the bin Laden raid, Keith Urbahn, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's chief of staff, leaked the news via Twitter almost an hour before President Obama gave an official statement. And, although no specific details were released at that time, news reports did release such details to the public. These details combined with the effects of social media, allow news to travel like wildfire in our high-tech world. 

"If you keep publishing how you do this," warned Vaught, "you're going to fly in and he's going to shoot down every damn helicopter and kill every one of your SEALs...mark my words." Smart words to live by if you're current Special Operations Commander Adm. Bill McRaven. 

Americans go crazy over viral videos

The latest YouTube video, "Giorgio loves Sonic", has become an instant hit. From Perez Hilton to The Huffington Post, everyone is reporting on this catchy video, and for good reason. He's amazing.

With a voice like that, it's not shocking that he's an aspiring musician with his own YouTube channel, as well as a pretty smart guy for delving into the world of guerilla advertising. So far, the video has been viewed over 960,000 times and has over 13,600 likes on YouTube. With so much free publicity from internet users passing this video along and being covered by numerous reporters, Giorgio is now in the spotlight...and I'm sure Sonic isn't complaining either.

While you obviously can't guarantee a post to go viral, it's been done many times before because of talented people. Sometimes on accident, like Sophia Grace singing her favorite Nicki Manaj song; sometimes to get noticed like Karmin's "Look at me Now" cover; and sometimes by what seems to be a sly trick by marketing professionals like Planet Fitness's treadmill Dancing Queen.

However, as a side note, I found an interview with dancing queen, Nicole Harris and the man who recorded her, which made it seem like an actual individual's posting. But call me cynical, or maybe just a pr major, but it just seems too convenient having Planet Fitness.com right in the middle of the camera frame.

Regardless of who posted any of this content, personal or professional, they all have two things in common. One, they all can proudly say that they've gone viral and two, they've all monetized. To expand on my examples from above, three of the four videos have commercials and all but the most recent, Giorgio Loves Sonic, has appeared, or has been offered a spot on, the Ellen Degeneres Show and the like.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Giorgio in hopes that his viral hit will help pave the way for his budding musical career. Or, at the very least, give him his fifteen minutes of fame and a nice chunk of change.

Campus Candy: fighting back against frozen yogurt monotony

It seems as if ever since my senior year in high school frozen yogurt shops have been popping up left and right. There's Red Mango, Orange Cup, Juicy Tart, The Yogurt Shop, Swirl, Tart, Berry Austin, Sweet Berry, berry this and berry that. It seems like the list could go on forever.

Yes, frozen yogurt is good; yes, America has seemingly gone crazy over this frozen yogurt fad; but no, there really isn't a difference between one store to the next no matter how catchy and cliche the store name.

Until now...

Much to Swirl's dismay, Campus Candy and Yogurt Bar has finally seemed break the monotonous streak of generic yogurt chains. I went there last night for the first time and while the yogurt really was the same as any other place, the topping selection in itself outdid the competition. The fruit was surprisingly fresh and there was a large variety of not-so-healthy toppings to up your calorie intake as well.

It also obviously sets itself apart from other Yogurt shops by offering a wide array of bulk candy to purchase by the ounce to appease my always active sweet tooth.

A cleverly centralized check-out counter located in the middle of assorted products.
(Photo courtesy of Yelp.com)

A maybe not-so-obvious characteristic of Campus Candy is the way they use technology and social media. In addition to their unique product assortments, they have several flat screens on the wall for consumers to enjoy while eating and mulling over candy purchases. A smart move to keep customers in the store just a little bit longer, allowing extra time for them to make impulse buys.

Currently, this new business does not have an 'official' website and only relies on its excellent storefront location, Facebook page and word-of-mouth for its advertising and promotional efforts. But from what I've seen and heard on campus, almost everyone knows its presence.

Will it survive the ocean of yogurt shops? My bet is most likely. Or at least until the next entrepreneur revamps this business plan and opens up the next 'big thing'.

Goodbye D.C., hello Iowa

While skimming my RSS feed earlier this week, an article from the Washington Post caught my eye. It read, "Filming movies in Washington just got harder". While its pretty common knowledge that filming on location is always more financially and legally challenging than filming on a studio set, often times art directors still feel there is just no substitute for such a powerful location as our nation's capitol.

One of the first problems facing a filmmaker wanting to shoot on location in D.C. is financing; not many places are as film friendly as California. For instance, D.C. offers little to no incentives programs for filmmakers, while other cities and states offer competitive packages.

Many productions get around these snafus by only filming establishing shots on-location and filming interiors and even exteriors at either cheaper locations or on sets. For example, the TV show NCIS, a show set in D.C., is filmed mostly in Santa Clarita, Calif. Likewise, Legally Blonde: Red, White & Blonde was filmed mainly in California studios or on-location in Illinois and Utah which both offer better filming incentives and less security hassles than D.C.

D.C. isn't the only culprit of unfriendly film stipulations though. While Austin is one of the more film-friendly cities, the state of Texas and its many larger cities offer very low financial incentives as well.

So while lack of filming incentives isn't a new problem to the filming industry, a fairly large hurdle may have just arisen. To the dismay of the filming industry, a particular patch of land with the perfect shot of the Capitol building, just traded hands from the U.S. Park Service to the Capitol Police.

Still shot from Transformers 3, courtesy of the Washington Post.

Why is this so bad, you ask? Because the Capitol Police department is notorious for not being as film-friendly as the U.S. Park Service. And while there hasn't been any concrete say in the matter yet, according to Peggy Pridemore, a D.C. location manager, "the answer from the Capitol is always absolutely no".

This unfortunately can cost the city millions of dollars in revenue because according to the article, a feature-film crew can spend almost $500,000 a day while on-location. For example, last year, the city gained $2o.5 million from commercial filming alone. So to see D.C. based films and TV shows get outsourced to other states is definitely a sad thing for the city, and filmmakers alike, to see.

A new year, a new blog

I, Rosy Baker, am going to carry on this blog even after this assignment is over. I'll blog about every good food trailer in Austin. It'll serve not only as an excuse for my overeating habits, but a writing sample for future interviewers. Its going to be great...

Or at least that was my grand idea last year, and if you scroll down a few inches, you can see it ended pretty much as quickly as it started.

But with a new year, comes a new blogging assignment. So now, with two entries a week, I'm expanding my blogging material to encompass my three favorite things: food, beverages and entertainment. 

Each week, I'll generally use one entry on local restaurant or show reviews and another on current events within the entertainment or restaurant industry. The latter will specifically focus on the business and public relation efforts which serve as the backbone for financing, special events, grand openings, premiers, crisis management and much more.

So, stay tuned because this spring season an array of events are already on the line up including Mardi Gras, Chilifest, SXSW, Hollywood's award season, new business deals and anything else that pops up throughout the semester!