Media Frenzy

By Rob Holbert Managing Editor

Mobile has received a couple of different mentions in the national media recently; one positive and the other just positively strange.

The much ballyhooed “Crichton Leprechaun” is back, having made VH1’s Top 40 list of the year’s “Web Junk” videos of 2006. The now-famous WPMI report from last St. Patrick’s Day, when folks in Crichton claimed to see a leprechaun’s shadow in a tree landed at number two on the VH1 list.

The bizarre news story continues to attract thousands of viewers on the various sites where it’s posted, while also providing a degree of ignominy for the Mobile area.

On a more positive note, the Azalea City’s Mardi Gras celebration was featured on the cover of the Jan/Feb issue of American Airline’s in-flight magazine, Latitudes. The article proclaims our carnival the “family friendly” Mardi Gras, declaring it a “nonstop lineup of wholesome parades, parties and fun.”

OK, I’ll agree we’re not as decadent as the folks in the Big Easy, but I’ve seen plenty of things at the Mobile Mardi Gras that would curl your Aunt Agnes’ toes. Still, American Airlines claims Latitudes reaches more than 6.3 million people, so that kind of publicity can’t be bad.

Senior Bowl on NFL Network

Some hard-core football fans have expressed a bit of dismay that the upcoming Senior Bowl will be broadcast on the NFL Network, which is almost as hard to get as ABC on Media Com.

While Senior Bowl organizers admit having the game air on the NFL Network will probably mean fewer viewers this year, they say the move is a winner for the event itself. When the deal was first reached, the NFL had hoped its new network would be more widely available by now. According to Vic Knight, Senior Bowl media relations director, that should improve in coming years. Right now, the NFL Network is only available through certain cable packages and DirecTV.

But Knight said in terms of strengthening the game’s ties with the NFL, the move was a total winner. He said chances are that most folks who are that fired up about the NFL and interested in its future stars will have the NFL Sunday Ticket already. As for those in our local market who don’t have the Ticket and want to see the game. Well, Knight says they can always get tickets.

“Ability” pageant WABB style

WABB’s morning show crew will host its first “Ability” Pageant for the Disabled. The pageant will take place at the Ramada Inn on South Beltline Highway in Mobile Jan. 22 from 6-10 p.m.

The concept of the pageant is to allow those with disabilities to compete in a pageant. Contestants will be grouped by age, from 1-12, 13-20 and 21 and up. It is open to both male and female contestants and they will judged in a Favorite Wear Category, and can also compete in a talent category.

The idea was spurred by a popular show on Dutch TV called “Miss Ability.”

Those interested in competing can go to www.wabb.com to sign up.

Sullivan-St. Clair grabs award

The Nation’s Restaurant News, the leading trade publication for the restaurant industry, recently tapped a hometown ad agency as having the best promotion of 2006.

Sullivan-St. Clair Advertising was recognized for its promotion of Dreamland Barbeque in Montgomery. The Dreamland restaurant there is no longer affiliated with the chain that owns the Mobile branch.

“Basically, we ran the deceased founder of Dreamland (John “Big Daddy” Bishop) for governor in order to boost sales of the Montgomery store. The tagline for the campaign was “Keep the Pork in Politics,” said Sullivan-St. Clair president Rich Sullivan.

The campaign grabbed press all over the state, and was even featured in Nation’s Restaurant News in October. The Montgomery Advertiser ran a story on its front page, and locally, WPMI’s Darwin Singleton covered the story. Anyone interested in the campaign can check it out at http://www.backbigdaddy.org.

Digesting a local story

Speaking of the Press-Register, the latest Reader’s Digest has an interesting article about national silicosis lawsuits being run out of Pascagoula. It’s a story Press-Register bloodhound Eddie Curran had almost two years ago.

Rob Holbert is Lagniappe managing editor. Contact him at rholbert@lagniappemobile.com.

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