WISHFUL THINKING

Talk about being prepared.

We thought you’d get a kick out of this sample “Out of Africa” ad from Universal Studios. All the big studios have similarly hopeful sample print ads ready to go--complete with interchangeable numbers and award categories--in anticipation of winning some of that Oscar gold. Or Oscar nominations. Or the Golden Globes. (The Globes were dished out Friday; look for the studios’ self-congratulatory ads tomorrow.)

Sandy Rivkin, an exec at Gore Graphics, which handles printing chores for most of the studios, can’t remember a studio ever being caught unprepared: “The Oscars can mean millions of dollars to the winning studio. Even just a nomination.”