North Shore magazine turning 25

North Shore magazine turns 25 next month with a renewed emphasison covering subjects of interest to its target audience of suburbandwellers living north and northwest of the city.

It is an evolution that actually began five years ago under formerEditor Tom McNamee, when North Shore underwent a complete redesign,including changes in the size and quality of the paper on which itwas published. That allowed for better photo reproduction and a morecontemporary feel for the magazine, according to North Shoreexecutives. North Shore is published by Pioneer Newspapers Inc., asubsidiary of Hollinger International. Hollinger also owns the Sun-Times.

Three years ago, S. Jennifer Hunter (wife of Sun-Times VicePresident of Editorial John Cruickshank) came on board as NorthShore's associate publisher and editor. She has focused themagazine's editorial content squarely on topics she believes to bethe concerns of a large segment of her readership--such things aseducation, parenting and housing. The current August issue, forinstance, spotlights the best schools in the northern suburbs. Hunterhas kept a touch of celebrity too--the June issue featured actorDavid Schwimmer, a graduate of Northwestern University.

The September anniversary issue will hit newsstands in lateAugust. It includes a 32-page special section that provides ananecdotal look at life on the North Shore during the past 25 years.

As a prelude of sorts to the special section, Hunter has beenpublishing a "Flashback" column where North Shore residents talkabout their experiences in the area and their view of how things havechanged. The September cover will be a collage of all past NorthShore covers.

North Shore's monthly circulation is 55,000, according to magazinePresident Larry Green.

New entity could oversee local ad awards show

When last we checked in six months ago, the Chicago AdvertisingFederation had decided to scrap the Windy Awards and rethink the kindof awards show Chicago's advertising community wanted and deserved. Acommittee of local ad execs has made progress in the interveningmonths, though some details are yet to be worked out.

Under new awards guidelines now being drawn up, an entity known asthe Chicago Creative Club is tentatively set to orchestrate theevent. Winners will become a member of the club, though they will notbe entered in any other national or international competition, as hadbeen the case with the Windys. After attendees complained of too manyaward categories at the final Windy Awards event in 2002, the numberof categories has been cut, which should mean a faster-pacedceremony.

The club hopes to put the entire submission and judging processonline. If that happens, it hopes to get a strong group ofinternational judges to assess the work. The hope also is that thefirst club awards could be handed out as early as November, but theevent could get pushed back to early December, sources said.

New long-form Bud ads make their Web debut

Anheuser-Busch is warming to the long-form commercial, which isnow a staple on the brewer's Budweiser Web site, www.budweiser.com.Late last month, AB unveiled two new short films on the site, titled"The Company Man" and "Gas, Food, Beer."

The films manage to integrate the Budweiser brand into a varietyof humorous situations typically faced by adult beer consumers. In"The Company Man," for instance, lead character Greg Greggor--bestknown for his wedding toasts in another Budweiser short film, "TheBest Man"--attends a corporate dinner party that develops a fewtwists. "Gas, Food, Beer" features two couples traveling to a skilodge for a well-deserved vacation with a driver who has to stop fordirections.

For Anheuser-Busch, the long-form commercial manages to do doubleduty. "We believe this is an efficient form of marketing for us, aswe can use portions of each film to develop standard 30-secondcommercials," said Andy Goeler, director of Budweiser marketing. InNovember 2002, Budweiser announced a partnership with Kevin Spacey'sTriggerStreet. com, a Web-based filmmakers' and screenwriters'community that showcases new talent and shares and critiques originalshort films.

Ad Notes

Kelly Abeles, communications director for the American BarEndowment, will become the 49th president of the Chicago Associationof Direct Marketing when new officers and board members are installedat the group's 48th annual business meeting Aug. 13 at the 410 Club,410 N. Michigan. Other officers are Vice President Michelle Blechman,the vice president-strategic planner at Grey Direct; and Secretary-Treasurer Joseph DeCosmo, president, DeCosmo and Associates. HollyHarle, account executive, Mid-American Mailers, becomes immediatepast president.

The C Spot Drive Party, Mercedes-Benz' largest-ever experientialmarketing project, will take place at the Odeum Sports & Expo Centerin Villa Park, Friday through Sunday. The event is designed topromote the C-Class model Mercedes.