Celebs: living a life of luxury, fashion and sitting?

When we think of celebrities we often think of private planes and jet-setting, massive homes in the Hollywood hills, and endless designer duds. However, sitting down and getting paid is not one of them.

I recently came across an article that discussed how much celebrities are paid to sit front row at fashion shows during various fashion weeks. WHAT?! I want to get paid to sit down. I think that the world's fascination with celebrities is almost an epidemic, and the fact that designers pay celebs to sit at their shows is a bit crazy.

But, I'm not a complete idiot. I know that designer clothing will sell better if seen on a hot celeb. I guess it's just the idea of it all that bothers me. Here are some going rates of celebs:

A-List
Rihanna ($100,000 or more)
Beyonce ($80,000-$100,000)
Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen ($80,000 each)
Julianne Moore ($60,000)
Maggie Gyllenhaal ($60,000)
Chloe Sevigny ($60,000 or more)
Jennifer Lopez (circa 2005: $80,000; circa 2010: $30,000)
Lindsay Lohan (circa 2006: $60,000; circa 2010; UNINVITED)
Colin Firth (pre-A Single Man: $5,000; post-A Single Man: $15,000)

B-List
Blake Lively ($50,000)
Leighton Meester ($40,000)
Hillary Duff ($40,000)
Other Gossip Girl cast members ($25,000 a piece)
Jared Leto ($25,000)
Cliven Owen ($10,000)
Kristen Bell (unpaid, but airfare, makeup and clothing are taken care of)

C-List
Kim Kardashian ($35,000-$50,000)
Amanda Bynes ($25,000-$30,000)
Eliza Dushku (unpaid, but airfare, makeup and clothing are taken care of)

D-List
Paris Hilton (free or UNINVITED)
Jersey Shore cast (UNINVITED)
America’s Next Top Model Winners (free)

The most surprising for me was that Paris Hilton goes FREE or uninvited. That's just hilarious. Oh well, I guess since I'm a Z list celeb, I won't be attending any fashion shows anytime soon.

Thanks Hugh!

All of Los Angeles and the world finally caught their breath today as Hugh Hefner donated the last $900,000 needed to save the Hollywood Sign.

If you're anything like me, you had no idea the Hollywood sign was in danger. Well, it was. A group of Chicago investors bought the land the sign sits on a few years ago, and had threatened to remove the sign. However, after the rest of the world heard of this, they immediately began to protest and raise funds.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said it perfectly when he described the sign as, "a symbol of dreams and a symbol of opportunity and hope." What if all things that symbolized these things, or a city were gone? Imagine no Eiffel Tower, no St. Louis arch, no Big Ben...the world would be a lot less beautiful.

This whole ordeal reminded me of a time when my neighbors removed an old brick post from the end of my street. While on the surface, it seemed stupid, it had dated back to the early 1900's when my street back home in Chicago was just a small farm. The brick pillar was the only thing remaining from the farm, and it set our street a part from all the others. After they tore it down, the street revolted and it was put back up almost instantly. Sometimes things seem like a good idea at first for various reasons, but if we lose sight of what things mean- like The Hollywood sign, or the brick post, then we are stripping the world of it's beauty.

Eat this, Not that!

It's that time of year again that us women dread: swimsuit season! (insert scream here). While we all might be up to our ears in Redbull and fast food while studying for finals, we know that as soon as school ends, we must resume our normal routines. With that being said, I came across an informative segment on yahoo.com called "Eat this, not that!". It features various tricks from a much larger book on how to eat things you still love, but that will be a little bit healthier for you.

For example, did you know that one serving of Kellogg's Raisin Bran has 19g of sugar?! I was appalled at this fact, considering it markets itself on being a healthier cereal. 19g of sugar is less than Lucky Charms, Reeses' Puffs and Cocoa Krispies. WOA! Also, SmartStart has 14g of sugar per serving. These cereals trick you with words like "whole grain" "fiber rich!" etc. But, all your getting is a highly sweetened cereal.

This book then tells you alternatives to indulge in. Instead of Raisin Bran, try All-Bran with only 13g of sugar (still high, but not bad). Instead of SmartStart, try Kashi Vive with only 8g of sugar.

We all like to eat what we want, but when we're trying to lose those pounds gained with the stress of school, it's nice to be able to look to books like this and find alternatives to what we love, that will still satisfy our cravings.

Happy Reading!

Wanted: George Washington

Wanted: George Washington
Where: New York Library
Why: Overdue library books

This is not a joke. According to the Associated Press, George Washington has two books overdue. He checked them out about 220 years ago, and apparently they just realized they were missing. This is serious. What ever will we do?!

Okay, as ridiculous as this article was, it got me to thinking about the future of libraries. Are they going to be necessary in the next 10 years? With the release of the iPad, the success of the kindle and ebooks, who is going to need to go to a library? This saddens me. I blogged a while back about how some things should stay the way they are, particularly books. And after this insane article, I don't see a future for library fines. Why would anyone want to check out a book and possibly have to pay for it being overdue, when they could just download the book to their iPad, Kindle etc? It just doesn't make sense.

Oh well, I guess only the future will tell if George will make a guest appearance and return his libary books...or if there will even be a library for him to return them to.

Why Texans Are Badass

I always knew Texas was a badass state...from the lonestar, to the cowboys, we pretty much rule down here. With the recent economic downfall, Texas has managed to escape most of the drawbacks. According to the article (linked in the title), Texas continued to create jobs through most of 2008, when most of the nation was struggling. We still have a pretty high unemployment rate - 8.2%, but when comparing to California at 12.5% or Michigan at 14.1%, we're doing alright. The leading industry of Texas, energy, is almost recession proof because regardless of what's happening, we all continue to consume energy.

This article was pretty interesting, and confirmed my assumptions that Texas wasn't doing as badly as the rest of the country. I think that if other states take our lead, and don't get overhyped about certain things, and consume in moderation, they too can fare off the recession.

I'll leave you with 10 reasons to love Texas, according to The Washington Post
10. Pickup trucks with deer antlers (fake, we think) on them.
9. Sweet tea.
8. LBJ
7. This bumper sticker (American by Birth, Texan by the Grace of God)
6. The weather (we kid).
5. Gigantic American flags at every car dealerships.
4. Lots of George Strait on the radio.
3. Brisket.
2. Rick Perry vs Kay Bailey Hutchison.
1. Panther football.

Paying For What We Want

Just this past week I had the opportunity to attend the French American Chamber of Commerce luncheon where the CMO of Alcatel-Lucent spoke. I’d never been to a big fancy, formal luncheon, and was super excited. After the lunch portion, it was time for the speaker, Allison Cerra. Her speech was very interesting, and caused to me to think long after the luncheon.

She proposed, along with Alcatel-Lucent, that consumers should pay their service providers – AT&T, Verizon, Sprint etc, for better internet/video streaming coverage. Some of what she said went over my head, but the point did not. Should consumers pay for what they want? Absolutely. I think with the internet and technology boom, we’ve all gotten too much stuff for free, and it’s bound to fail at some point. Why should advertisers capitalize on the internet, when service providers are going to eventually lose their customers? I think the playing field should be evened out, and everyone would be happy.

While I love watching things on the internet for free, I wouldn’t be completely opposed to paying.

Required: Defining Responsibility in Advertising

I was recently asked to define responsibility in advertising. So, I thought I’d start with the real definitions of advertising, and responsibility.

Advertising: the non-personal communication of information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by identified sponsors through the various media.

Responsibility: capability of fulfilling an obligation or duty; the quality of being reliable or trustworthy.

To me, advertising is a combination of things, and one of those things is being socially, and ethically responsible. Advertising is a socially responsible form of communication with the intent to persuade, all while living up to a code of ethics.

Shatterbox

Just recently, my friends sister Amanda launched a website called Shatterbox. Like many recent college grads, she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with her future. After trying several different jobs, she realized she wanted to inspire people. She decided to get inside the minds of people who loved their jobs, and were happy to go to work each day, and wanted to find people who creatively found their passions. Enter Shatterbox- an online video based community of people sharing stories of inspiration and innovation. In times like these, it’s difficult to lose sight of your passions and settle for something you don’t really want to do. I believe that when people lose sight of their dreams, they lose themselves. With Shatterbox, people can create online profiles and network with other users about how they found themselves and their careers.

I spent well over an hour watching all of the videos on the site, and I truly felt inspired. It made me stop and think how I want to leave my mark. Do I want to work in advertising? And if so, what field? What if when I graduate, I don’t want to work in advertising, will it be hard to find something else? While the website doesn’t answer these questions, it makes you stop and think about your own state of happiness. I think that this website is a great stepping-stone to thinking outside of the box, and finding your inner passion. How will you make your mark?

I’ve decided to post a few of the videos that inspired me below.

Viktoria Harrison from shatterbox on Vimeo.

Jason Rueger from shatterbox on Vimeo.

Intrinsic Motivation At Its Finest

Marathon runners are one of a kind. Their athletic ability blows my mind, and their motivation is beyond me. A few months ago, my two best friends said they were going to run a half marathon. I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t believe them, and at times they didn’t even believe themselves. But, they surprised me. They planned out their training schedule impeccably, and stuck to it. After months of training, sprained hips and exhaustion, they both finished the Dallas Half Marathon under two hours and thirty minutes! I was so proud of them. At the end of it, I thought about what kind of motivation they had. I asked them both why they were doing it, and they said, “I want to do it for myself, to prove that I can run that long.” If this isn’t intrinsic motivation, I don’t know what is. I think that all actions should be done with intrinsic motivation, and as little extrinsic motivation as possible. Now I’m not saying I’m going to run a half marathon, but I’m definitely thinking about planning some goals that are solely done for me.

Civil Duty?

Just this past week, someone hit my friend's car and didn’t leave a note. Now, this wasn’t just a little scratch from parallel parking or something, but rather an enormous dent with chipped paint everywhere. This caused me to think about people’s civil duty, or lack there of. I could never hit someone’s car and not leave a note. I would have the worst conscious over the situation, and wouldn’t be able to live with myself. My friend now has to pay tons of money, for someone else’s mistake. The bigger picture here is that, if humans do what there supposed to do, the world will continue to go round. Its when people, like Mr./Ms. Hit and Run, don’t live up to their civil duty that the system gets thrown out of whack.

Schadenfreude

scha·den·freu·de   [shahd-n-froi-duh] –noun: satisfaction or pleasure felt at someone else's misfortune.

This word, of German descent, is basically why people watch YouTube videos- well certain videos involving EPIC falls, “eating shit”, or dressing like a clown and banging your head on a TV while rocking out to Beyonce’s “Single Ladies”. We all love a good laugh at someone elses misfortune. Why else would videos like “Scarlet Takes a Tumble” have close to 12 million views?! It’s just too funny not to watch.




Just a few days ago my friend sent me this video. (click the word video to watch...wasn't able to embed). Needless to say, I was laughing so hard I thought my stomach was going to break. I couldn’t contain my laughter and kept watching it on repeat, over and over and over and over. And, it NEVER got old. Why on earth do people post these videos? They must know people just mock them endlessly. I then sent the video to my friends, who also couldn’t contain their laughter. It’s only 38 seconds, but 38 seconds of pure anticipation and laughter.

Twitter: Branding or Vanity?

When Twitter was first introduced, I was very confused. What’s the point of constant status updates? I understood the idea because Facebook has status updates, but a website completely devoted to status updates just didn’t make sense. I’ve always been an early adopter, and love trying new technology. However, I was very hesitant about Twitter.

Then one day last spring, I decided to give it a try. I made my account, and started to, um, “tweet"? Well, it’s been almost a year, and I have less than 30 tweets. I just don’t see the point to have people constantly know what I’m doing.

On the other hand, I think it’s a great way for brands and companies to reach their customers. For example, my friend last summer worked with a local pizza company to promote their products on twitter. He was their social media intern, and would make customers aware of discounts and different promotions. Another example of great twitter branding would be Sprinkles Cupcakes. A few times a week they post a secret tweet that gives you a secret phrase to whisper at any store for a free cupcake. Now who doesn’t love free cupcakes?! These two companies are utilizing Twitter in great ways and expanding their brands, and it makes sense. However, people who constantly tweet about their lives seems a little vain…if I’m interested in something about you, I’ll let you know.

Superbowl + Intertextuality

This past superbowl had OK ads, but there was one that stood out to me…not because I thought it was particularly good, but because it was laced with intertextuality.

Every year, Wieden+Kennedy out of Portland, OR, puts out an ad for Coca-Cola. The past few years they’ve done a great job with ads like “It’s Mine”, and “Happiness Factory”. With these ads generating great buzz in previous years, the bar was set pretty high for this year’s game.

Well, W+K definitely dropped the ball. They produced several ads for this year’s game, but the one that involved vertical intertextuality or, how connections between old and new cultural texts across multiple genres create meaning. W+K’s coke ad this year was directly modeled after “The Simpsons”. Had you not known who The Simpson’s are, you wouldn’t quite understand the ad. With that being said, to me, The Simpson’s are a completely tired concept and show. It’s been around for at least one hundred years- well okay that’s a little exaggerative, but still, way tooooo long.

I’m ashamed of you Wieden + Kennedy, you’ve done such great things in the past and your ad completely blew this year. Oh well, maybe next year.

Is Romance Dead?

Just the other day my roommate received a Facebook message from a guy she had met once or twice. He started the message off pretty standard, “hi, how are you?” etc. Then, he proceeded to ask her on a date. While this kind of thing isn’t at all shocking these days…it got me to thinking about romance- or lack there of in our digital world. Not only are majority of guys/girls asked out via texting, facebook etc, but also, people are increasingly ending relationships through a digital medium. Not okay.

Back in the day- well before computers and cell phones, so not too far back…people had to actually call someone to make a date. And if you go even further back, you would have to write letters, or happen to bump into them. Don’t get me wrong, technology is great, but I would have loved to live in the days where you wouldn’t receive a digital invitation for a date. Nowadays we seem to text more than we call people, and are constantly glued to our phones. And the worst part is, it’s almost awkward when someone you went on a date with actually does call you because we almost never talk on the phone these days.

Guys who might be reading this, girls love technology just as much as you do, but it might be nice to actually pick up a phone and ask a girl out instead of texting or Facebooking her…just a thought. Oh, and roses and chocolates are always welcome.

World Currencies

I think one of the best ways a country can show its creativity is with its currency. This past semester I was fortunate enough to travel across Europe, and with each country I visited (that was not on the euro) I was always anticipating what the currency would look like.

Hands down, the coolest currency I got to use was the Swiss Franc. The money was so intricately designed, and was adorned in bright, neon colors. While it looked like play money, it was just so beautiful to look at and use. On the down side, it didn’t feel real, and I would find myself spending a lot of it. Like most European countries, they had several different values for their coins- which I found to be annoying. Suddenly, my wallet would be so heavy and I would have ten dollars just in coins!

Sadly for the Euro, it was my least favorite currency. I don’t think the banks of Europe did a good job in designing their bills, and certainly did not have a good engineer on staff when they made the sizing. All the bills are different sizes making it difficult for wallets (but easier for visually impaired people). They also use coins way more than us American’s do- one reason I was happy to come home.

Ultimately I miss the days when all countries had different currencies. I know that the Euro unified Europe and made traveling between countries more fluid, but I miss the excitement of seeing what each currency looked like.

Guess I’ll have to venture to Asia where each country has its own currency.

When Is Technology Too Much?

If you ask the typical college student, or anyone for that matter, what technology they use on a daily basis you’ll probably get the following: cell phone, computer, iPod, TV, GPS etc. To me, these are all standard pieces of technology that advance our lives forward. However, with the new introduction of the iPad, and the previous release of the Amazon Kindle, I think technology is going a little too far.

Nothing quite satisfies me like opening a good book. The smell of the pages sets my nose on fire, and I can’t wait to turn each crisp, new page. So tell me, why would I want to settle into bed with a cup of warm tea, just to turn on a kindle or an iPad? While the idea of these devices sounds amazing, I think that some things like a good book need to stay the way they are.

With this world changing so fast, I think we could all benefit from taking a break from exposing ourselves to new technology, and keep and enjoy the old.

Quick Creativity

Like many advertising students, I have been completely wrapped up in applying for summer internships. I’ve worked in retail the past three summers, and while I love it (and enjoy my employee discount), I’ve decided to give shoes and handbags a rest, and think about my future. While I haven’t fully decided what part of the advertising industry I’d like to work in, I think that this summer is the perfect time to gain hands on experience in all fields.

With that being said, I looked to Leo Burnett- a top ad agency located in my hometown of Chicago. When I went on their website and began applying, I thought it was just going to be the standard, “submit your résumé and cover letter” deal. Well, it was, until the end when I had to complete an assessment. While this wasn’t the ideal time for me to answer questions, as I had class in about 15 minutes, I couldn’t save the application and complete it later- I had to think fast! The first question was very intimidating and required creative thought at its best. “Make up a culturally relevant word, define it, and use it in a sentence”. WHAT?! I couldn’t possibly be this creative. Well, out of nowhere like some divine intervention I started typing and came up with “socioadd”. A socioadd is someone who is addicted to social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIN. Okay, question one down, I think I nailed it…lets see what question two had in store. “What is your favorite place in the world, and name three things that no one would know about it”. On the surface this was easy- Paris! I’d just spent four months there, and knew I could write about it. However, to me, Paris seemed a tad generic. So, I reached in the back of my creative brain and said Interlaken, Switzerland. I then continued to write the following- something I think the HR people will get a good kick out of.

“My favorite place in the world is Interlaken, Switzerland. On the surface it is an outdoor lover's paradise. The picturesque Alps are the backdrop, but if you look a little closer you will find a tiny white house at the peak of the mountain where adventurous para-glider's take flight. You will also notice a beautiful old railroad track and station nestled deep in the Gruenwald hiking trails. Finally, you will be surprised to find that a Big Mac at McDonald's will cost you $12.”

Not bad, eh? So, I guess the point of this blog is to prove that creative thought is always useful, especially when applying for internships. I’m kind of happy I had to think on my feet for those questions, as it was good practice for my future in advertising.

Counting Body Weight in Stones

Just the other day I found myself flipping channels aimlessly, and stumbled across Oprah. I used to often watch Oprah in high school, but since coming to college, I’ve not had the time. Oprah’s guest of honor was Kirstie Alley- famous actress and weight-loss spokeswoman. After hearing her talk about her constant struggle with weight, and how she’s tried for years to keep the pounds off, they started discussing her new reality show.

Long story short, each morning with her assistants, Kirstie weighs herself. Being the comedian that she is, she never wants to know her weight, but instead wants to know how many “stones” she has to lose. She counts one stone as 14 pounds. After laughing and thinking she was hilarious, I started thinking how it was a great idea. Often times people who are trying to lose weight are overwhelmed by the number of pounds they want to lose, be it 20 or 200. I think we can all take some advice from Kirstie and count our weight in stones. Humans are mental people, and saying, “I need to lose 3 stones” versus, “I need to lose 42 pounds”, just sounds better and more do-able.

Up in the Air

All these things annoy the average human, but to me there all thrilling and exciting. Why you ask? Well, because all these things involve travel- my favorite thing in the world. I travel almost every month, whether it is visiting family, visiting friends, or exploring a new culture. Often time’s people complain about security lines and long delays, but to me it’s all a part of the travel process. Waiting on the DFW runway for six hours because they don’t have enough plane de-icer’s makes for a good story, being stuck on the runway in Paris because an A380 plane can’t move because the engine broke also makes for a good story etc. I could write a novel on travel stories, and while in the moment I may not have been happy, I can’t help but laugh now. I think that people need to find humor in these situations like I do. I mean air travel is probably the coolest thing of our time. Traveling four thousand miles in just eight hours is incredibly remarkable, and we need to think about that each time we fly. The fact that I can wake up in Chicago, and go to sleep in Paris is surreal to me. If it weren’t for creative people like Amelia Earhart, or the Wright Brothers, we still might be crossing the ocean by boat. Weird, huh?

Counting Stairs...What?!

Now that I’m taking my first creative advertising class, I started thinking about all the random things I do. Sure, everyone’s creative in their own way, and we all have our quirks. However, there is one thing that I do that I think is extremely bizarre, and something that should speak about who I am, but it doesn’t.

Ever since I was little, I’ve counted things. A few of my favorite things to count are: stairs, water towers (when in a plane), and footsteps. I know…this is extremely bizarre. At my peak of counting, I could tell you how many stairs went up to my bedroom, the basement, my friends houses, school stairs etc. On average, there are about fifteen stairs from the first floor of a house to the second floor. I never really thought about this habit, until I was older and talking to my dad. He thinks I’m secretly a mathematical, logical person- but I beg to differ. I HATE math. I even scored the lowest on my multiple intelligences test with math. But then why do I count? This a question I still can’t answer. However, after starting this creative class, I think it’s my brain working in a creative way I didn’t know I could do. Instead of just aimlessly walking to class, or going upstairs, my brain wants to be more entertained and wants to count.

I guess we all have weird quirks, and counting is just one of mine.