Local News in Brief : John Wayne Airport : Mascots Picked for Parking Program
O.C., a cartoon aviator, and his dog, MacArthur, have been selected as the official mascots for John Wayne Airport’s parking awareness program.
Eric Chimenti, 21, an illustration design major at Orange Coast College, won the competition among 11 OCC students with his drawings of O.C. and MacArthur. He has been awarded $500, according to the Allen Marketing Group, a Newport Beach public relations firm hired by the airport construction managers to undertake a communications campaign dealing with the airport parking problem.
The cartoon characters will be used for advertising, airport signs and direct mail to advise airport users of changes in parking availability during the two-year construction of a new passenger terminal and parking structures at the airport.
“My foremost thought was that O.C. and MacArthur must be likable and reflect the spirit of Orange County,” said Chimenti, a Tustin resident. “I sought a Disney-type feel, making them both warm, friendly and roly-poly.”
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