Separating the Touchdowns from the Interceptions


By Susan Davis
Photography by Craig Merrill
    Do you remember that 2001 Super Bowl advertisement for Subway—the one in which the 425-pound Jared drops 245 pounds, in one year, just by eating Subway sandwiches?
You probably do. That was the most effective Super Bowl ad in history in terms of entertainment, memory retention and subsequent sales.
    Now, do you remember the Super Bowl advertisement for Accenture! Virtual Surgery from the same year? You know, the one with the dancing bacteria, the 150-year-old birthday girl, and um … how did it go again?
    If you don’t remember it, don’t worry. Hardly anyone else did. Based on those same factors of recognition and entertainment, it was one of the all-time Super Bowl duds.
    Tracking just which Super Bowl advertisements “work”—and which don’t—is one of the primary jobs of Bruzzone Research in downtown Alameda. Founded 30 years ago by Don Bruzzone, the firm helps all sorts of companies (ranging from Anheuser-Busch to Walt Disney World) test all sorts of television, radio and print ads—both before and after they actually air. But the two-man firm is most famous for its Bruzzone Report, which tracks how people respond to the advertisements aired during the big game. “We’re probably the only people in the world who tape the Super Bowl but throw out the actual game,” says Bruzzone.
    Unlike some measures of Super Bowl success, the Bruzzone Report doesn’t just measure “likeability.” Instead, the report—which relies on a survey of hundreds of Super Bowl viewers—checks to see if people actually recognize what’s being advertised. (E.g., did anyone understand which company was behind the 2006 commercial that featured Dale Earnhardt Jr. racing a car against a jet just to return a girl’s lipstick? Hint: It was a beverage company, not a car manufacturer, NASCAR or a cosmetics line.)
    The report also measures whether people can recall the advertisement a week after it airs and whether the ad inspires people to go out and buy the product. “We find that generally the most effective advertisements are for things you put in your mouth,” notes Sales Director Paul Shellenberg. “Fast food, soft drinks, beer—those all sell well. Cars, insurance companies—nobody likes or remembers those ads.”
    So, what can we expect to see during this year’s Feb. 4 Super Bowl broadcast? “We expect far more movie commercials,” predicts Bruzzone, adding, “Budweiser and Pepsi will have the funniest ads. That’s nothing new. They always do.”

ABOUT AN AUTHOR

Telling Tales


    Local history know-it-all Woody Minor says he has a general interest in history but is also a part of it—and so is everyone else. “We are not just bound by the present,” he says. “We exist in a larger context.” By looking at the whole world as a story, Minor, 57, has been able to combine his knowledge of history and city planning to pen and publish the stories behind the Port of Oakland, Alameda’s parks, the Encinal Yacht Club and most recently, Emeryville’s Ratcliff architecture firm.
    Minor’s family has roots in Alameda dating back to the 1890s, and his historical prowess stays close to home. After publishing his first newspaper article in 1979, he wrote the Heritage column in the Alameda Journal for eight years. In 2004, he wrote an article for Alameda Magazine about Island homes designed by legendary architect Julia Morgan. That piece led to the task of chronicling the firm of Morgan’s contemporary, Walter H. Ratcliff, through 100 years of design projects ranging from the Mills College campus to the Oakland Airport’s Terminal II. Published this month by Heyday Books, The Architecture of Ratcliff  “captures the human element of the renowned firm and also is a great page-turner,” says Liz O’Hara, Ratcliff’s centennial effort coordinator.
    And it’s no accident that the book does not read like an extended encyclopedia entry. “It’s a story-oriented book about how things changed,” says Minor. “We’re part of a story that goes a few years back—a few million years.”
—Christopher Danzig

A New 'Do

    In August, the hair salon Alameda Magazine readers selected as the Island’s best [September/October 2006] left its Encinal Avenue location of 12 years for brand spankin’ new digs on Clement. “We outgrew our existing location,” says Spank Salon owner Angela Scott, who used the upgrade as an opportunity to add stylists and bring in specialist Susan Dressler of NoFu skincare. “We were looking for a larger space that would allow us to be a little more creative.”
    If it was creativity Scott was looking for, she certainly found it. The salon (1912 Clement Ave., 510-521-9100) is the last thing most would expect to see while driving down Clement—nestled in a neighborhood of warehouses, shipyards and abandoned railroad tracks—but Spank plays off the funky warehouse vibe with industrial tube lighting, epoxy flooring and tool chests used to store stylists’ equipment. The new salon also features a landscaped backyard, where patrons may wait (in bright pink patio chairs) for their hair services to be complete.                  
—Jamie Andrade

ALAMEDA MADE

Nice Rice

    People are often surprised to learn that many of the ingredients used in natural bath and body products are the same things they eat everyday, says Alameda-based beauty guru Mimie Wong, who points out that rice has been used in Asian skincare lines for years. Rice is also the main ingredient in most of  Wong’s handcrafted beauty products and the inspiration for her company’s name, mi, which is the Chinese word for the grain.
    Burned out by the fashion industry and looking for a new calling, Wong, a Parsons School of Design grad, started reading about natural herbs and beauty products and making soap in her spare time. In December 2005, she launched mi from her Island residence, selling the bath and body line in a few retail shops and on her Web site, which she designed and maintains herself.
    Wong says that most of the flavors and scents she develops are inspired by memories of growing up in Hong Kong. Her soaps come in a variety of fragrances such as lemon litsea, bamboo charcoal, Kauai ginger lily and monoi gardenia. Wong also handcrafts lip balm and gloss, conditioning hair rinse, whipped body butter and body polish, among others items, but her best seller is the mi shampoo bar. “It’s something that I have to keep making,” she says. “People keep coming back and asking for more.”
    Wong’s natural body, face and hair products range from $6 to $28. In the Bay Area, you can find the mi line at Relish at Home in Berkeley (2703 Seventh St., no. 112, 510-981-9400) or online at www.mi-spa.com.             
—Ellen Keohane

Fuel Up!

    A new bar is coming to town. And, no, it’s not another happy hour hangout. Clif Bar Inc., maker of the popular CLIF and LUNA energy bars, will soon relocate its headquarters to Alameda.
    The company, based in Berkeley since its 1994 inception, has outgrown its current locale, and with a lease expiring in 2008, the time is right for a move to the former Fleet Industrial Supply Center. Slated for summer 2008, the move promises many advantages for the company and the Island. The 72,000-square-foot facility, which Clif Bar hopes to expand to 100,000 square feet, will allow the company to increase its staff and offer added amenities in the form of a fitness and yoga studio, childcare and a performance space for events. Plans also include a sports medicine clinic and small retail outlet, both of which will be open to the public.
    While 2008 seems far off right now, Communications Manager Dean Mayer projects, “It will be here sooner than we think. We are very excited and looking forward to joining the Alameda community.”
    For more on Clif Bar Inc. and the move to Alameda, visit www.clifbar.com.
—Jamie Andrade

TAKE FIVE

With Will "the Thrill" Viharo


1. Forbidden Island Tiki Lounge
    Anybody that knows me knows that the Forbidden Island Tiki Lounge is my favorite hangout. I actually find going there to be worth leaving my personal Tiki lounge at my home. They have better drinks than I do, and their decor is almost as cool as mine.

2. Encinal Market
    Encinal Market is a place my wife, Monica, and I cross the Island for to shop and sometimes to just hang out and soak up the cozy vibe. I love everything about it—the food, the atmosphere and the people. I get an authentic retro feeling when I’m in there.

3. Alameda Sports Cards and Comics
    I am a regular customer and fan of Alameda Sports Cards and Comics on Park Street. I really dig all the cool toys and stuff, and since I’m taller than most kids, I can reach for the action figures faster than they can. Another great thing about that place is that the owner also happens to be a Tiki freak like me. I call her Pineapple Patti.

4. Kelly’s
    Kelly’s on Park Street is a place we are so lucky to have in Alameda. I really dig the fact he brings real live jazz to the Island. Walking into Kelly’s makes me feel like Kookie walking into Dino’s Lodge on 77 Sunset Strip.

5. Bacci Delicatessen
    When I go into Bacci Delicatessen on Lincoln Avenue I feel like I’m in The Sopranos, which, to me, is a good thing. The place is so old school and cool. Some young entrepreneurs have opened a classic red-checkered-tablecloth kind of place that reminds me of places I grew up with in Jersey.
—Gina Jaber

Land of the Free

    It’s a familiar scene: You’re cleaning out the garage and discover all this perfectly good stuff, things you don’t need or want but hate to throw away. You could take it all down to Goodwill, or you could, instead, post your stuff on the Alameda Freecycle list, where, quite literally, one person’s trash is another’s treasure.
    Alameda Freecycle is an e-mail group of locals who believe in recycling, reusing and sharing what they don’t need instead of adding junk to the waste stream. Freecycle’s goal is to connect people who are throwing away unwanted items with others seeking the same items. “No item is too big or too small, but since this is a Freecycle list, all items must be 100 percent (that’s right, you got it) free!” boasts the Web site.
    The Alameda group is part of an international Freecycle movement. Alameda Freecycle moderator Chantal Currid started the Alameda site in June 2005, and it has grown steadily since then, she says. There are currently some 1,250 local members, most of who have never met. But when someone has stuff to pass on, anything from kids’ clothes to old magazines, he’ll post it on the list, and someone else will write back and request the item. And the service works both ways: If there’s something you want, post a request; if someone else has the fabric scraps, baby clothes or Mason jars that you want, you may find yourself a happy recipient.
    For more information on Freecycle or to join the local network, visit www.freecycle.org.          
—Julia Park