Peter Brock At AutoBooks-Aerobooks

Peter Brock - Brock's new book on the creation of the first Corvette Sting Ray tells the inside story, from the foreign inspiration to the adoption of prior dreams that never made it, to the actual design of the prototype that did. Image Credit: Randy Berg, Special Car Store

Peter Brock At AutoBooks-Aerobooks 
By: Randy Berg

On an unassuming corner of Burbank California, there lies a book shop steeped in the history of the automobile and aero industries that seeded the area with creative gusto. Saturday morning coffee is a tradition with the locals. You never know who is going to stop by and what car you might see when you visit. The book store has great friends, and they don't mind sharing.

It was a great privilege to meet Peter Brock; the very influential automotive design icon from across many brands and eras. On September 7, 2013, Peter was able to introduce his latest book, "PETER BROCK - CORVETTE STINGRAY Genesis of an American Icon," to a group of automobile culture enthusiasts, journalists, and friends (which may all be people who share these same descriptions).

Peter gives much credit of the survival of the Corvette to Bill Mitchell; and understates his contribution to a formative period of Corvette evolution; the '63 Stingray. The book is coffee table worthy; chock-a-block full of beautiful pictures, original sketches, and personable Corvette history as it happened.

Autobooks-Aerobooks Burbank, CA. Image Credit: Randy Berg, Special Car Store

Jay Leno, Stewart Reed & Peter Brock book shopping. Image Credit: Randy Berg, Special Car Store

Peter could write a few other books - parked out front was the beautiful  Superformance Brock Daytona Coupe based on his original design for Shelby. Thought ugly on first review, the design was an aerodynamic winner on the track. Success has followed Peter in each wind direction.

Peter Brock's personal 2005 Superformance Brock Daytona Coupe. Image Credit: Randy Berg, Special Car Store

Corvette Stingray. Image Credit: Randy Berg, Special Car Store

Datsun 710. Image Credit: Randy Berg, Special Car Store

Triumph TR4A IRS. Image Credit: Randy Berg, Special Car Store

Citroën Traction Avant - Itself an innovative car (in 1934!) showcasing the first mass-produced front-wheel drive car. Image Credit: Randy Berg, Special Car Store

(ht: Special Car Store with edits by Edmund Jenks)

... notes from The EDJE

Kwik-E-Mart Debut In Twelve "Springfield's"

Always wondered where Springfield really is? Does anyone really know? Well the folks at 7-Eleven do – in fact they’ve been working very closely with Apu Nahasapeemapetilon. The Kwik-E-Mart was made famous in The Simpsons and has landed in the streets of Burbank, Ca.. Image Credit: 7-Eleven Corporate website - YouTube Video (below) Credit: LAMISCH

Kwik-E-Mart Debut In Twelve "Springfield's"

Just before the release of the feature length movie, "The Simpson's Movie", scheduled for release on July 27th, twelve 7-Eleven convenience stores in North America have been converted to the famed "Kwik-E-Mart" stores.

We, at MAXINE were just minding our own business when all of a sudden we came upon a very crowded store where once a 7-Eleven stood on Olive Avenue in Burbank.

To our amazement, there stood a complete Kwik-E-Mart store and about 400 people were snaked from the front door to around the corner of the building wanting to share in the experience of a real life movie promotion.

It is pretty cool in that the Kwik-E-Mart not only looks like a Kwik-E-Mart, but it will sell products only found at the fictional store in Springfield. That's right, Buzz Cola, KrustyO's cereal and Squishees, the slushy drink knockoff of Slurpees.

Every promotion though has something that can kill a BUZZ ... no, really!

You are correct in guessing that there will be NO BUZZ BEER sold at the Kwik-E-Mart.

That is a Buzz Killer for sure!

Excerpts from AP via Yahoo! News -

7-Elevens become Simpsons 'Kwik-E-Marts'
By DAVID KOENIG, AP Business Writer - Sun Jul 1, 7:44 PM ET

DALLAS - Over the weekend, 7-Eleven Inc. turned a dozen stores into Kwik-E-Marts, the fictional convenience stores of "The Simpsons" fame, in the latest example of marketers making life imitate art.

Those stores and most of the 6,000-plus other 7-Elevens in North America will sell items that until now existed only on television: Buzz Cola, KrustyO's cereal and Squishees, the slushy drink knockoff of Slurpees.

It's all part of a campaign to hype the July 27 opening of "The Simpsons Movie," the big-screen debut for the long-running television cartoon, which loves to lampoon 7-Eleven as a store that sells all kinds of unhealthy snacks and is run by a man with a thick Indian accent.

For 20th Century Fox Film Corp. and Homer's creators at Gracie Films, the stunt is a cheap way to call attention to their movie, since 7-Eleven is bearing all the costs, which executives of the retail chain put at somewhere in the single millions.
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"We thought if you really want to do something different, the idea of actually changing stores into Kwik-E-Marts was over the top but a natural," said Bobbi Merkel, an executive for of 7-Eleven's advertising agency, FreshWorks, a unit of Omnicom Group Inc. "It shows they get the joke."

The monthlong promotion has been rumored a long time — it's hard to keep a secret known by so many suppliers and franchisees — but 7-Eleven managed to keep the locations of the stores quiet until early Sunday morning. That's when the exteriors of 11 U.S. stores and one in Canada were flocked in industrial foam and given new signs to replicate the animated look of Kwik-E-Marts.

The U.S. locations where a 7-Eleven store was transformed into a Kwik-E-Mart are New York City; Chicago; Dallas; Denver; Burbank, Calif.; Los Angeles; Henderson, Nev.; Orlando, Fla.; Mountain View, Calif.; Seattle; and Bladensburg, Md.
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The Fox/7-Eleven deal is an example of a practice called reverse product placement. Instead of just putting products prominently in a movie or TV show, fake goods move from the screen to reality.

In some cases, 7-Eleven has contracted with manufacturers of similar products to make their Kwik-E-Mart counterparts. Malt-O-Meal, the Northfield, Minn., cereal maker, will conjure up a recipe for KrustyO's, for example. In others, existing products will simply be renamed. One flavor of 7-Eleven's own Slurpee will be sold as "WooHoo! Blue Vanilla" Squishee for the month.
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After Fox pitched a 7-Eleven tie-in last year, representatives from the studio, the stores, and Gracie Films — including Simpsons creator Matt Groening and executive producer James L. Brooks, met in Los Angeles to kick around ideas. Brooks added one — holding a contest to let one fan be drawn into a future episode of the TV show.

7-Eleven executives loved the idea. They had surveys showing a strong overlap between their customers and fans of the show — both tend to be young and male. It sounded like cash registers ringing.

"They've been looking at Squishees and KrustyO's and Buzz Cola for years and have never been able to put their hands on it," said Merkel, the advertising executive.

But they won't find Duff beer, the brand chugged by Homer Simpson. The movie will be rated PG-13, and selling a Simpson-themed beer "didn't seem to fit," said Rita Bargerhuff, a 7-Eleven marketing executive. "That was a tough call, but we want to make sure it's considered good, responsible fun."

Bargerhuff predicted extra sales to Simpsons fans will more than offset the cost of the promotion and create new customers for the chain. She also said the chain is prepared for crowds and will have extra security and clerks at the Kwik-E-Marts.
Reference Here>>

Always wondered where Springfield really is? Does anyone really know? Well the folks at 7-Eleven do – in fact they’ve been working very closely with Apu Nahasapeemapetilon.

Burbank, CA
Chicago, IL
Dallas, TX
Denver, CO
Lake Buena Vista, FL/Orlando, FL
Las Vegas, NV/Henderson, NV
Los Angeles, CA
New York City, NY
San Francisco, CA/Mountain View, CA
Seattle, WA
Washington, DC/Bladensburg, MD


UPDATE 7-10-2007:

Proof that the creators of The Simpson's have decided that the fictitious town of "Springfield" is actually ... Springfield, Illinois!

The True Cost Of Improper Communication - Post 9/11

Cartoon Network Animation Center, Burbank, California. Image Credit: Burbank.com

The True Cost Of Improper Communication - Post 9/11

WE, at MAXINE, can see it all now, in the boardroom of Turner Broadcasting ... "Guerilla Marketing - it's a way to create tremendous BUZZ without having to pay a lot of money for billboards, or get all wrapped up in government approvals and/or permits."

"Look, we have been able to fly-under-the-radar on many projects and we are very successful!"

"Yes!, that's right, we will make up these LED cartoon light boxes from black plexi-glass, power them with batteries - and save the power of the batteries with light sensors placed next to the batteries, attach magnets on the back of them, and mount them (in the middle of the night) in high traffic areas so that as many people as possible can see them at night as they drive, or walk, from place to place."

"We will use the cartoon character that is known for 'Flipping-Off' people and things as part of its persona."

Electronic devices placed in Boston and nearby communities were an ad for Cartoon Network's Aqua Teen Hunger Force. The devices were feared to be bombs and parts of the city were shut down. Image Credit: Todd Vanderlin/Associated Press

Sure, we can get enough BUZZ (media attention) before the late March release date of the feature length cartoon film.

News item from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation –

$2 million US settlement in Boston TV ad bomb hoax
Last Updated: Monday, February 5, 2007 1:07 PM ET - CBC Arts

Turner Broadcasting Systems and ad firm Interference Inc. have agreed to pay $2 million US in the wake of an ad campaign that caused a widespread bomb scare across Boston last week.

The two companies agreed to pay several state and local agencies to resolve any potential civil or criminal claims against them, state Attorney General Martha Coakley said Monday.

"Money" - Image Credit: United Press International

Public areas in Boston were evacuated and bomb squads responded last Wednesday after three dozen blinking electronic signs were found in subway stations, on bridges and in other public places.

Highways, bridges and a section of the Charles River were shut down and bomb squads were studying the devices before authorities declared they were harmless.

Blossom (PowerPuff Girls) Avitar. Image Credit: The Cartoon Network

The devices, featuring a boxy cartoon character giving an obscene hand gesture, were part of a publicity campaign for Cartoon Network's Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

They were distributed in nine other big U.S. cities in recent weeks, without causing the same consternation.

Buttercup (PowerPuff Girls) Avitar. Image Credit: The Cartoon Network

As part of the settlement, $1 million US will be used to reimburse the agencies and $1 million US will be used to fund homeland security and other programs.

"Last week's events caused a major disruption in the greater Boston area on many levels — crippling public transportation, causing serious traffic problems, negatively affecting local businesses and perhaps most significantly, costing Boston and surrounding communities thousands of dollars," Coakley said.

Bubbles (PowerPuff Girls) Avitar. Image Credit: The Cartoon Network

Atlanta-based Turner Broadcasting, the division of Time Warner Inc. that owns the Cartoon Network, and Interference Inc., the New York ad firm that conceived the campaign, have agreed to make a public apology.

Turner issued an early mea culpa Friday in full-page ads that appeared in Boston newspapers.

However, Coakley criticized the broadcaster for taking five hours to notify police that the devices were part of an ad campaign.

In an effort to ward off lawsuits, Interference issued a statement over the weekend saying it contacted Turner and authorities as soon as it heard of the chaos caused by the devices.
Read All>>

Now Turner Broadcasting is having to take money out of the mouths of, well ... PowerPuff Girls.

UPDATE:

Excerpts from CNNMoney -

Cartoon Network boss quits over bomb scare
Jim Samples is taking the fall for the marketing debacle at Turner Broadcasting.
By CNN's Katy Byron and CNNMoney.com's Rob Kelley - February 9 2007: 3:17 PM EST

In a letter to employees, Jim Samples, the general manager and executive vice president of the network, wrote: "I deeply regret the negative publicity and expense caused to our company as a result of this campaign. As general manager of Cartoon Network, I feel compelled to step down, effective immediately, in recognition of the gravity of the situation that occurred under my watch."

Turner Broadcasting System and Interference Inc. agreed to pay $2 million to make amends for last Wednesday's bomb scare in Boston, the Massachusetts attorney general said Monday. TBS is the parent of the Cartoon Network, which initiated the marketing scheme. CNN, CNNMoney.com and TBS are all owned by Time Warner Inc. (Charts), the world's largest media company.

Samples had been with Atlanta-based Cartoon Network for 13 years.
Reference Here>>