The Greatest Maketing Campaign

Fess Parker made the coon cap an all time favorite.

 
To publicize the 1955 film Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier (released in Britain in 1956), Walt Disney Productions launched a massive marketing campaign in the UK in order to make the country's youth "Crockett conscious." There was already a "Crockett craze" in the U.S., where the episodes had become wildly popular. Crockett merchandise was produced en masse, the most iconic item being the imitation coonskin cap. The craze became immensely popular amongst schoolchildren, and the ballad made its way across the Atlantic. 

Ah, Fess Parker, R.I.P.

Change Has Many Companions

When historians get around to 2010, I hope they will say it was the year the era of one-sidedness died. In the U.S., we have a terrible tendency for the quick judgment; a two-second headline read and a glimpse at a juicy sound bite and we have the story.

I used to fear that people only revealed one side of the story. I blamed MTV and the thirst to get the story in three minutes. I blamed our media for skewing to one side only. Then I started with ALO magazine. My mindset changed a bit as I saw the world differently. I traveled to new lands; read more foreign media; met intelligent folks who changed perspectives.

Change is impossible to write about without falling into cliché. But there it is: Nothing is as certain as change, and it has come to America on the coattails of a new president. When we elected President Obama, it was a call of change for race and economy. Now, “change” is spreading to reporting and news dissemination.

Goodness knows I dislike a complainer. I’m not one to complain, and I’m sure you’re not the sort to, either, but aren’t you growing just a bit tired of all of the politics upon politics? It’s no wonder travel is down from the U.S.

It seems that every country I want to go to in the Middle East has a travel warning against it. This is not to say that the secret knowledge passed through to us by the U.S. State Department travel warnings is not vital to the health and vigor of the nation as a whole, or that our government is not an essential force in keeping a watchful eye on us. It is.

If you want to be a complainer, then do it with knowledge; the more you are informed the more you will change. An open mind facilitates change. That’s all I ask.

Some things, though, will not change one bit, including my commitment to bring some new perspectives. Change has many companions. Opportunity is one of them. Being able to show you all sides of the Middle East is the opportunity of a lifetime. I relish the chance to continue the introduction to the wondrous, surprising and sometimes delightfully strange facets of this region through the pictures and stories we publish.



Above: Crusader Helmet circa 1100 from the Saladin (Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb) era.

Burn Notice Chat

Have you ever been to the network up fronts? Luckily I get to attend a few. ABC has a fantastic one at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood and the Fox one is gaining steam. Now the cable networks are having them and this is where some of the best interviews and sound bytes come from. Now conference calls are all the rage. On a recent USA Network call, there were two surprise guests: Jeffrey Donovan (Michael Westen) and Gabrielle Anwar (Fiona Glenanne) of "Burn Notice". Here are the highlights from the call.

USA: Are you at all surprised that you've been able to move past "cable hit" and into "bona fied hit?"

JEFFREY DONOVAN: Well, I think that all you can hope for is that you make something that people want to watch and then somehow keep integrity while doing that. And so I think we're very happy with the ratings definitely. I know we work really hard, so surprised, yes, we're always surprised when anything succeeds in this day and age.

USA: I'm big into evolution these days, are you happy with where you guys are and the evolution of your characters?

GABRIELLE ANWAR: Do you think we've evolved? I don't know where we're going, where are we going, Jeffrey?

DONOVAN: Well, I think that, I'll speak for Gabrielle, I mean I know from talking with all the other cast mates, we're very happy with where it's going. But sometimes Matt Nix and all the other writers keep us slightly in the character dark, not because they don't trust us with the knowledge, but they're just trying to figure it out as well along the way.

When you're dealing with espionage and covert affairs, sometimes the secret is more exciting than the knowledge. If we were both in charge, I would love a deeper insight into Michael's past, that's for me. I don't know about Gabrielle, what would you like?

ANWAR: I'm quite happy with Fiona's enigmatic state of being. I don't think I need to know more about me, I'd love to know more about where you're from, absolutely, but I quite like not knowing. I don't like to know who I am.

USA: What first drew you to the show and to your characters?

ANWAR: I was drawn to the character because she was so brilliantly written. It was sparingly written, but so insightful. I couldn't believe that a man had actually written the script, I mean at least her character. When I first met Matt [Nix, who writes the show and created it], I actually said to him, you must have a remarkable relationship with your wife, because you have such incredible insight. So that was what intrigued me about playing a character. When you sign up for a TV show, you don't know if it's going to be for a pilot or for the rest of your life, so I wanted to play a character that I enjoyed thoroughly, and there weren't that many of them out there. So that's why I grabbed onto this script with great hope.

DONOVAN: I got hooked on the voiceover. Right there on the first page, it reads, "You know what it's like to be a spy?" I love the idea that not only do I get to play a spy, I get to play a burned spy, and on top of that, I can talk to the audience about what it's like being a spy. I thought I had never seen anything like that on television, so that's what hooked me.

USA: What draws you to television vs. film?

DONOVAN: I think that, especially with cable, it's an avenue to be creative. I think why people are drawn more now to cable shows than ever is that they take more risks, they're creatively pushing the envelope. I think that the networks have to answer to a bigger advertising calling, whereas the smaller cables have lower ceilings that they can bump their heads on. So I think that's why I keep being drawn back to television, because I think it's one of the most creative outlets. If you think about it, we make 16 one-hour movies a season. You don't get any opportunity like that in movies. I mean, I can't say I'll be able to do 16 movies in the next year, and so that's how I see it.

ANWAR: I like the stability, the continuity of having a lifestyle where I know I can pay my rent at the end of each month. And also I have these children that I am raising and it's nice for all of us to sort of know that we're going to be in a specific place for a certain amount of time. I've never known that in my career. So I'm really quite grateful at this point that I get to have the sort of double existence and I can rely on both.

USA: Any plans for guest stars on the horizon? Who would you like to see appear on the show?

ANWAR: Steve McQueen.

DONOVAN: Yes, he's dead.

ANWAR: He is?

DONOVAN: Don't you read the papers.

ANWAR: I didn't realize it had to be somebody who could actually appear on the show, but I would say Steve McQueen.

DONOVAN: I would love Angelina Jolie. Actually, I would like to do a crossover somehow with White Collar, I think that the show tonally is similar to ours. I don't know how that would work, but I would like to see that. I don't think we would work with any other show. I think Psych and Royal Pains doesn't figure into our tone.

USA: What kind of training and research are required for your roles?

DONOVAN: We have an ex-operative that actually is a consultant on our show that Matt and the writers have access to, so everything that is put into the show gets vetted through him before we air it. Ninety-five percent of it you can find on the Internet anyway, but everything that is put into a script has been researched and vetted, so that when we speak it or we do it, we know it's actually real. I have a black belt in Shotokan karate and studied eight years in Jujitsu and Akito, and about three years of boxing. So what I try to do in every episode is the stunt coordinator makes it safe, but most of the time I choreograph it. And it's a great relationship, because I will say what would really happen here is this, and then he comes in and makes it safe for the guest stars. And if something gets too physical, then the stunt men come in and take over.

ANWAR: I don't like fighting with Jeffrey, because I always hurt him. Because I don't know what I'm doing, and he's such an expert, and I always manage to accidentally cause some damage.

USA: What's your guys favorite part about filming in such a diverse and vibrant city?

DONOVAN: I love the weather and that the climate is constantly being washed and rinsed. You're living in the Caribbean in the United States and sometimes it's incredible blue skies and sometimes it's an incredible thunderstorm that kind of screams through, but I love that part of Florida.

USA: Why don't you ever sweat?

ANWAR: I do, but Jeffrey doesn't.

DONOVAN: I do sweat, I just hide it well.

Coming Soon - The Burn Notice Interview

Just wrapping up my notes for my Burn Notice interview with Jeffrey Donovan and Gabrielle Anwar. I'll post a link shortly.

Update: 03-15-10, 1:02p here's the link: click here

World Travels: Jordan, an Oasis of Peace and Beauty

From the cloak of Wadi Rum serenity to the nutrient-rich mud from the Dead Sea, Jordan delivers to the heart and soul.

Why do we travel? Most of us have everything we need within a few miles of home: a place to sleep, our jobs, luxuries of life and entertainment and more. So what is it? For the majority of pleasure travelers it’s simple: the eternal unveiling of the mysteries of a dissimilar land, the search for the perfect view and clearest waters, and yearning to connect with something new and old.

Jordan’s history and places have been hinted about in popular culture. From Indiana Jones’s wild horseback ride through Petra, to Cleopatra’s thirst for the finest beauty products from the Dead Sea, to Peter O’Toole leading the Arabs through Wadi Rum, we have been teased with the beauty and mystery of a land typically known as a kind neighbor to Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Syria.

"Even without the buildings carved into the side of the mountains, the vast rock formations and canyon walls are worthy of “breathtaking” status. Centuries of earthquakes and neglect have left much of Petra’s history covered in sand and silt, which makes the mystery that much more alluring."

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has no oil and is officially a water poor nation. But it has one incredibly valuable resource in the troubled Middle East—peace. It is not an easy item to export, but people flock there when they need it, making use of a plethora of five-star resorts and hotels until it is safe to go home. Iraqi business people who can no longer function in their own war-torn country are immigrating to Jordan in droves. They have created a massive building boom. Palatial homes and modern apartment blocks are springing up everywhere.

When I traveled there this past spring, I was struck by the misconceptions the West has of the Middle East. Americans, especially, tend to think of it as a menacing place, but nothing is further from the truth, considering that Jordan enjoys a crime rate well below that of Sweden. As soon as I said I was American, I was greeted with big smiles. People were not only friendly, but well-informed about our country and its current events, and they were eager to meet Americans.

For my complete take on Heshimite Kingdom of Jordan and the beauty of it all, here's the ALO magazine URL: http://tinyurl.com/ykdhjev

VITA GLOBAL NETWORKING BREAKFAST - March 17th

Yes, your favorite Media Mindsetter [that's me] will be speaking at the VITA GLOBAL NETWORKING BREAKFAST on Wednesday, March 17, 2010 fromt 7:30am until 9:00 am. The special topic is “Doing Business within the Gulf Cooperation Council.”

Here's the lineup, the confirmed speakers are:

Dave Josephson, Director, Western Region, Export Import Bank· Trade finance solutions
· Overview of how the Export Import Bank develops business with Gulf Cooperation
Countries

Ghassan J. Sader, President and CEO, Sader Hospitality Worldwide LLC
· Relationship among Gulf Cooperation Countries
· How business, tourism and culture intertwine for economic prosperity for the region

Michael Lloyd, Vice President, Marketing, Unique Image Inc.
· How the collabortion of Unique Image, The Economic Alliance and VITA can assist
your business
· Capturing the emerging market in the Middle East

It's all going down here:
The Valley Economic Alliance Building
BFG Board Room
5121 Van Nuys Blvd
2nd Floor
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403

Make Your Reservations Today! Non-Members are $25; VITA Members are $20. Call Darcy at 818-379-7000 x 109 or email her - dwinters@economicalliance.org.

Expanding your knowledge of the global market is essential to continued success. Don't miss out.

Syria as a Viable Tourism Destination?

Okay, So where am I?

I just returned from another trip to Damascus planning the 2011-13 Media and Communications Plan for Syria and things couldn't have gone better.

I mean I don't usually pat myself on the back, but here is a case where I am compelled to do so. I mean it's not often David bests Goliath. Here's a case where I was told something was impossible and we made it very possible.

Q: Did you ever think that Syria could get positive press in North America media?

A: Well, they are!

***Warning - Shameless Self-Promotion***

And, it’s all because of the innovative and distinctive first ever North American Delegation to Syria in October 2009 that we lead at Unique Image, Inc...

-U.S. Sanctions? No problem.

-No Twitter or Facebook access? You don't need them with all of the turn of time attractions from Crusader Castles to Roman ruins.

-No American brands, like McDonald's and Starbucks? Substitute with old world hospitality of the bustling restaurants with five-star food.

We have been able to overcome it all and and gain phenomenal press across the continent (8 million in circulation and counting!). I'm talking about top publications like More, San Francisco Examiner, ALO magazine, Travel Weekly, Philadelphia Inquirer, Dreamscapes, Four Seasons magazine, Long Island Pulse, Reviewit, and more.

Now comes the hard part:::keeping it going. You can bet that we can and will. The only thing that could ever stop us is conflict in the region.

We've launched pioneering international programs partnering with government and economic developmental agencies, trade associations and chambers of commerce. Our efforts have greatly expanded the scope of cultural, consumer and business-to-business prospects in the U.S. and the Middle East. We are the folks that guided historic sister city agreement between Los Angeles and Beirut signed into effect by the Los Angeles City Council.

Make the impossible, possible?

I love the sound of that.

GREEK SUPERSTAR COVERS ALO HAYATI SPRING, 2010 ISSUE

Here's the latest news release from ALO:

For Immediate Release

GREEK SUPERSTAR COVERS ALO HAYATI SPRING, 2010 ISSUE

Los Angeles, California…March 17, 2010…Greek superstar Anna Vissi graces the Spring 2010 issue of ALO Hayati, the world’s premier, English language Middle Eastern culture and lifestyle magazine. The singer details her climb to best-selling female artist and wide appeal – from pre-teens to those over 50.

Never a stranger to dissecting controversial issues, the 1.2 million circulation ALO presents dueling views on the 2010 U.S. Census. The Spring, 2010 issue is on newsstands today.

“Should you give a damn about the 2010 U.S. Census, or should you just damn it?” explores the three decade road the Arab-American population has traveled to be counted in the census.

Northridge, CA-based Unique Image Inc. has published ALO Hayati for five years, despite a failing economy that has rocked the publishing industry. In an effort to save production costs, the Spring 2010 issue will switch from sheet-fed to web-fed press. Readers should experience no change in the quarterly’s quality. Distribution will increase, through new outlets in Europe and the Middle East and via an agreement with Kable Distribution Services.

"ALO’s mission – to promote cross-cultural awareness especially between the West and Middle East - has never been more crucial,” says Michael Lloyd, Editor-in-Chief. “Companies are increasingly looking to us as a valued international media consultant that brings stellar connections to the table.”

The magazine continues to increase visibility, readership and subscriptions. Publisher Wafa Kanan cites the vision that corporations, advertisers and community leaders have in “risking investment in an ethnic, breakthrough publication, the portal for the fastest growing community in the U.S. We look forward to greater interest from Fortune 500 companies as well.”

The rich culture and positive influence of the Middle East is becoming more known. Such awareness requires open communication, which ALO Hayati represents.

Each ALO Hayati issue showcases the most elegant and daring fashion from international designers - from Parisian catwalks, Hollywood red carpets and New York sidewalk haute couture. This month: Elie Saab unveils nine sexy bridal looks.

Other Spring 2010 features include examination of the growing trend of Middle Eastern single women over 40; “The Man with Four Wives,”; “Best of the Middle East,” which details power brokers, destinations, music and food that demand notice in the Middle Eastern region; how an Arab-American dealt with an arranged marriage, forcing her to navigate a labyrinth of cross cultural mores; and “Never Judge a Country by a State Department Warning,” which takes readers deep inside Syria, a fascinating country packed with antiquities and dichotomy that is surprisingly safe.

ALO Hayati Founder Wafa Kanan recently led the first North American delegation to visit the Syrian Arab Republic. As Founder and President of Northridge, CA-based Unique Image, a branding and marketing firm, Kanan assembled a select group of influential media “to connect cultures through lifestyles and commonalities we all share,” she said. Kanan’s non-profit ALO Cultural Foundation shares a similar mission to heal rifts in cross cultural understanding.

Kanan, a Lebanese entrepreneur and humanitarian, moved to the United States in 1990 after coming of age amid Lebanon’s destructive civil war. ALO magazine was launched in April 2005, with a current worldwide distribution that includes retail giants Barnes & Noble and Borders franchises, international hotels and airlines, VIP lounges, travel agencies and tourist bureaus.

Fashion, film, television, destination travel, cuisine, health and fitness tips—all topics one expects to read about in a lifestyle magazine—also fill the pages of ALO Hayati. The focus remains on the Middle East, North Africa and the Mediterranean, but the target audience extends to people of all cultural backgrounds.

“Alo, hayati” is a common Arabic expression of affection. Literally “Hello, my darling.” The phrase is shared between parents and children, spouses, lovers and friends alike. It expresses the open-ended, positive mission of the magazine. ALO Hayati is not beholden to any religious or political viewpoint, and so has the freedom to address fascinating and sometimes controversial topics with candor and openness.


ALO Hayati Website

ALOMAGAZINE.COM is the definitive Middle Eastern culture and Lifestyle website with thoughtful and provocative editorial and feature content. The ultimate source and voice of Middle Eastern, North African and Mediterranean culture both in the region and in Diaspora. Reporting the latest styles and Entertainment with extensive fashion and music showcases, comprehensive coverage, streaming videos, travel guides to the region all within an interactive forum aimed at bridging diverse audiences. The site offers surveys, on line shopping, blogging and more.

Website: www.alomagazine.com

Haifa Mesmerizes the States

If anyone wanted an unbiased opinion of Lebanese diva Haifa Wehbe's USA concert tour, they picked the wrong guy. I have an affinity for Ms. Haifa. The modern Arabic Marilyn Monroe, who also appears in ALO Hayati magazine's Spring 2010 beauty feature [for which I am the editor] is a show stopper.

So there she is. Statuesque somehow on her curvaceous 5'3" or so frame tightly wrapped in an Elie Saab number. Working out with her band prior to the Connecticut performance at the MGM Foxwoods, hitting high notes while swiveling her hips in that flirtatious voice. I'll tell you this, she had me at "high heels."

If that microphone had kept talking, it probably would’ve advised Haifa to stay right there. Whenever she takes a the microphone, the room stops; eyes mesmerized in fantasy.

At the MGM, the singer wasn’t content to stay in one place for very long, seducing us with her hips and airy voice. Her 100-minute, 22-song set was a jumble of seduction that had men doing standing ovations while sitting down and women hitting their dates for staring.

She was riveting and our eyes drink her in like a fine French wine.