City Hall Welcome Imaginary Friends

New reader Randi emailed Gothamist with this link to perhaps the best use of demonstration of wackiness at City Hall that does not involve the City Council, the Mayor, and some spinning: The Wise Owl, a Crash Test Dummy, Mr. Clean, and Tony the Tiger re-enacting Abbey Road (on what looks like Broadway) to kick off Advertising Week in NYC - which doesn't happen for another month. This other photograph shows Mayor Koch and other brand icons like the Michelin Man, Charlie Tuna, and the Chiquita Banana lady - and it looks like Kool-Aid is on the left.

AdAge was at the event and reported (registration required, but it's free):

Many icons were no-shows, including Ronald McDonald and the Jolly Green Giant. A rumor quickly circulated that the Energizer Bunny did not make an appearance because the marketer felt that it would be "off-message" for the drum-thumping rabbit to be seen in public being "wanded" at City Hall's security checkpoint.

Still, it's like a Madison Avenue acid trip!

Advertising Week in NYC begins on September 20 and there will be exhibits at Vanderbilt Hall in Grand Central (including one about "I Love NY"). You can also vote for your favorite advertising icon. It's a diverse group: animals (McGruff), foreigners (Juan Valdez), dough (Pillsbury Doughboy), appendages (Arm & Hammer).

A great book about advertising is Luke Sullivan's Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This. And two great sites are Ad Rants and ad land ad rag. And if you're really tired of commercialsl, there's TiVo.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on August 6, 2004 9:55 AM

Comments [rss]

hooch

Statler & Waldorf: named after hotels?

There is also a swanky restaurant in London named Bibendum, housed in a former Michelin tire factory.

muppetfreak

But do you know what Statler & Waldorf are named for? 50 points, if you do!

AlexisT

Ha ha Confusion! The old guys in the box from The Muppet show are Statler & Waldorf! This is my nickname for 2 of my cantankerous friends! Ed Koch def. looks like one of them.

AlexisT

Ha ha Confusion! The old guys in the box from The Muppet show are Statler & Waldorf! This is my nickname for 2 of my cantankerous friends! Ed Koch def. looks like one of them.

chibeca

The Wise Owl is the mascot for Wise snack foods. They make popcorn, chips, and other things like that: http://www.taquitos.net/snacks.php?snack_code=1637

rion

strange sighting. does this mean that the apocalypse is coming?

dirtgirl

dude, who the hell is wise owl?

i see woodsy owl in the Koch photo, but i've never heard of a wise owl. what is it?

Bobbie

My icon is Paris Hilton. How about someone strutting around dressed in a costume of a naked Paris Hilton?

Jen

I read and loved Pattern Recognition, but Bibendom did not stick in my mind. Thanks for the explanations.

nicky

(Explanation of the "Cayce Pollard" post--her name--above)

nicky

Bibendum is a big part of the plot line in William Gibson's new book, Pattern Recognition. The main character, a cool hunter, is allergic to certain logos and symbols, Bibendum chief among them.

Cayce Pollard

The Michelin Man? Oh shit. ::runs to bathroom::

Jen

Bibendom? Who would know that? That's such an arcane piece of trivia - and I love it!

In a part life, I worked on the Exxon account. There were rumors of litigation from Kellogg's because Exxon was using their a cartoon version of their tiger ("Put a tiger in your tank!") to promote their convenience stores (this site is in German but there's a picture of the cartoon tiger). Whenever we'd do anything marketing related involving the Exxon tiger, I'd have to count the number of whiskers, blah blah and make sure it looked like the Exxon tiger, versus Tony. Ah, brand management!

stereogum

awesome photos. i wish i was there.

confusion

Doesn't Ed Kock look like one of the old guys in the balcony seats on The Muppet Show?

Bibendom

The Michelin Man has a name and it is Bibendom!

Thanks for those pix. So fantastic!

-Tony

doshin

In other news...

http://www.local6.com/news/3616080/detail.html

mike

"And if you're really tired of commercialsl [sic], there's TiVo."

Hmm, how about this instead:

"And if you're really tired of commercials, turn off your TV and unplug your internet connection. Ride your bike, read a book, talk to your neighbor, be part of your community."

Steve

Actually, in addition to his convention PR work, Koch said he would vote for Bush. Does an endorsement qualify as "shilling"?

nicky

I agree that a little municipal frivolity is a good thing, but there's an unpleasant aspect of product placement in these highly staged events. The McEnroe-ization of Mayor Koch is also funny to watch. He's gone from being a sullen, self-centered bully to a lovably irascible symbol of the city.