Giant Hootie statue to be erected in Columbia, SC's Five Points

On the topic of pop culture weirdness, I recently learned that Columbia, South Carolina, my hometown and current place of residence, is erecting a giant statue of Hootie and the Blowfish, including frontman (and now-country music sensation) Darius Rucker. Um, wow.

This 20'x'10'x12' behemoth is to be unveiled on October 21, 2010 in Five Points (near the University of South Carolina), one of the most highly trafficked shopping, drinking and dining villages in the state.

Which reminds me: Darius did a totally surreal, and really rather amazing Burger King ad back in the day. For something called the TenderCrisp Bacon Cheddar Ranch sandwich.



I didn't pay much mind to it then, but now that I have friends in advertising, a penchant for watching "Mad Men," and a bunch of branding/marketing gigs under my own belt, I have to say that this is one of the most brilliant pieces of ad world magic that I have ever seen. Anyone know which agency made this behemoth of awesomeness? Apparently directed by rad photopgrapher David LaChappelle. Sweet.

Thanks to Columbia, SC music phenom Chris Bickel for posting the link to this beautiful piece of advertising history on the Facebook.

And thanks to Columbia, SC in general: this place is reeeeeeeeeally delightful!

(Um, I'm actually being serious. Crazy, right? But so true!)

Paid to keep his left leg raised

While researching some event branding details for a scriptwriting client just now, I found this scintillating pop culture tidbit on the blog of a big-time party/wedding DJ in Fort Worth, TX.

Photo and text reposted with respect from DJ Scott Shirley's Blog:

"Captain Morgan, a wanna-be pirate...is actually a paid model.

His contract requires him to pose with his left leg raised for all pictures, to look like the logo picture.

However, without a barrel to rest his foot on, he looks more like a dog at a fire hydrant."







Um, that is awesome. In his contract!

Those Morganettes may be foxy pirate wenches, and that actor quite a strong-legged fellow, but wow, Captain Morgan's spiced rum is gross.