Chicago's Olympic video misses mark
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You may have heard that representatives from the Chicago 2016 Committee, most notably our Mayor Daley and Committee Chairman Pat Ryan, have been busy over in Beijing checking out that city's Olympic effort and wooing many of the 100-plus people who comprise the International Olympic Committee.
That august IOC bunch will decide where the 2016 Summer Olympics are held. The Chicago 2016 Committee has the task of ensuring Chicago gets the nod when the IOC votes on the 2016 host city in a little more than a year from now.
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Aside from a lot of handshaking and partying, the Chicago 2016 Committee tried to sell IOC members on Chicago this week with its latest video presentation, curiously titled "Chicago Surprises." The three-minute-plus video is said to be the creative handiwork of Downtown Partners/Chicago, famously headed by one of the city's ace copywriters, Jim Schmidt. We couldn't reach Schmidt to discuss the finished video because he was in Los Angeles on Thursday shooting new work for an agency client.
The gist of the new video -- the first effort from Chicago being shown to the entire IOC membership, per a Chicago 2016 spokesman -- is that visitors to Chicago, once they get here, will be pleasantly, uh, surprised by all they discover. The video runs through all the expected "surprises" visitors to our city will find, including a lovely lakefront, spectacular buildings, fine restaurants, culture, beautiful parks, diverse neighborhoods and a melting pot population. Of course, it could be readily argued that any world-class city would be expected to encompass most of these attributes. So why would anyone, including IOC members and athletes of the world, expect anything less if they came to Chicago for the Olympic Games?
Which leads to our main concern with the positioning of our city in this "Chicago Surprises" effort, with voiceover delivered by Chicagoan and "CSI" star William Peterson. Like most of Chicago 2016's feeble marketing initiatives to date, "Chicago Surprises" reeks of an embarrassing provincialism that has become part and parcel of our seemingly unshakable Second City syndrome. At this point in the city's evolution, we shouldn't have to talk about anyone being "surprised" to find Chicago is a vibrant, rich metropolis -- that should be a given we present to the IOC in a sophisticated, compelling, unique fashion.
Which brings us to the second major concern about "Chicago Surprises." Upward of two-thirds of the IOC members have never set foot in Chicago, we're told, so for them this video is, in a way, their first real brush with the city. Perhaps they won't realize, as we did, that so much of the footage feels like tired stock images of the city that have been trotted out time and time again in tourism promos and elsewhere. What's worse, though, is the amateurish disparity in the quality of footage -- some is clear, while other bits are grainy. This isn't the kind of first impression many IOC members should be getting of what Chicago can produce. Especially right after Beijing's eye-poppingly lavish Opening Ceremony.
Despite all the problems with the "Chicago Surprises" video, it must be said the copywriting is superb. It flows along elegantly, cleanly and clearly as it details Chicago's assets. It's a pity, then, that the video -- and the city it is showing off -- can't shake off that stigma of provincialism.
Brandimage-Desgrippes & Laga, a global brand consultancy, has named Ellen Turner vice president of strategy North America. Turner will focus on client strategy and brand development in conjunction with account teams in the firm's Chicago, New York and Cincinnati offices. Previously, Turner served as president of retail foods at Sara Lee Corp.
News from Milwaukee. Ex-Chicago ad man Bob Welke has formed a new agency called the Welke Advertising, Marketing and Design Group/Milwaukee. Welke describes his shop as "for adults only," suggesting he won't be doing work that targets only younger demographics. Cousins Subs, Heartland Credit Union and American Family Insurance are the new agency's charter clients.
Post-production house Hootenanny/Chicago has hired producer Don Avila as executive producer. Previously, Avila was at JWT/Chicago, where he served as director of JWTwo, the in-house editorial facility. Avila's jump to Hootenanny suggests the situation at the depleted JWT office here doesn't appear to be improving significantly.
Our condolences to Bernie DiMeo of Dimeo & Co./Chicago, whose father passed away Thursday at the age of 89. DiMeo's father was a longtime political leader in the city's 49th Ward.
Richard Blocki has joined Euro RSCG/ Chicago as group account director. He will work on the shop's Effen vodka account. Previously, Blocki was a partner at RCB Media/Chicago.
GreenMark Public Relations/Chicago has added Beth Burdin as part of its client services team. Burdin will be responsible for marketing strategy and implementation for GreenMark's environmentally conscious clients and will assist in new business growth.
Eatdrink, a Chicago-based integrated production company that also has a Las Vegas office, has promoted Bradon Webb to the post of creative director. He replaces John Dretzka, who left to pursue other opportunities. Jaimee Newberry also has been promoted to partner from director of interactive.
Laura Baumann has joined Abelson Taylor/ Chicago as a senior account executive. She was formerly with Palio Communications in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Jennifer White comes aboard Carat/Chicago as general manager and group client service director. Most recently, White was senior partner and group planning director for Mindshare/Group M.
Steve Slivka and Patrick Berry have joined forces to form Colossal Squid Industries/Chicago, an independent digital creative shop that hopes to build a new digital culture in Chicago. Slivka formerly was a group creative director at Arc Worldwide/Chicago, and Berry formerly was director of emerging media for Leo Burnett/Arc Worldwide Production.
Pam Biederman has been promoted to senior vice president, central division in National CineMedia's Chicago office, where she will continue to lead the Midwest national sales team. NCM is the operator of the largest digital in-theater network in North America for cinema advertising, alternative entertainment and events.
Chicago comedian Pete Holmes is a finalist in Klondike ice cream bar's online video contest. In his film, Holmes portrays the characters Ray Romano and Al Pacino.