No Mas <i> for Ross</i>
Ross Perot’s decision to pull the rip cord on his presidential bid wasn’t in the stars for those in the forecasting business.
A draft newsletter planned for October by Paul B. Farrell, Santa Monica’s “Executive Astrologer,” was set to forecast a groundbreaking election caused by “The Great Awakening,” defined as a “once-in-172-year conjunct” of the planets Uranus and Neptune.
According to the draft, “Both Bush’s and Perot’s astrological data suggest strong winners.” Not only that, he said, “the power of the Great Awakening clearlysupports Perot. Expect a very tight race.”
Farrell, a former Morgan Stanley executive whose slogan is “America’s 1 forecaster of business, political & financial cycles & events using the principles of scientific astrology & mass psychology,” did hedge by noting that Perot’s “timing may be early.”
Farrell, who calls himself a nonpartisan astrologer, now says that the stars look favorable toward Bush, unfavorable toward Clinton.
Dewey Defeats Truman Prize
Also smarting is the Socio-Economic Research Institute, a Rhinebeck, N.Y., firm that spots business and social trends for clients such as marketing executives.
Back on June 17, the institute published a special “Trend Alert!” under the banner headline: “Perot Victory Imminent; Dems, GOP Going Way of Communist Party; Boomers Leading Charge.”
In fairness, the institute did say that the Texas billionaire could lose if he ran an inept campaign. Short of that, it said, “our research concludes that President Perot will be inaugurated Jan. 20.”
Honey, I Hid the Brand
Ads for the just-released Walt Disney comedy “Honey, I Blew Up the Kid” curiously show a giant toddler’s shoe sans brand markings.
For the record, it’s an Adidas shoe (or adidas as the company inexplicably prefers to spell its name). The poster has removed the Adidas/adidas logo from both the side and bottom of the shoe, with a shoelace draped over the brand’s familiar three-stripe design.
Patty Hunt, the sneaker maker’s director of entertainment promotions, expressed no surprise that the poster doesn’t show the brand because the company paid nothing to have its shoes and the Adidas logo appear in the film.
That’s a bargain, given that some shoe companies pay from $50,000 to $500,000 to place their shoes in films. Adidas lucked out because the film’s makers chose to use a particular Adidas for the child, who in the film is accidentally made 112 feet tall by his father.
A Disney spokesman said the ad design was “an artistic decision” that was not influenced by lack of a fee from Adidas.
Briefly. . .
Let’s buy two: Former Chicago Cubs star Ernie Banks is working for a Beverly Hills real estate firm assisting athletes buying homes in Southern California . . . Who said the ‘80s are dead?: Department stores are touting an $11.50 spray bottle filled with Evian, saying “skin hydrated with Evian is much more receptive to the active ingredients in your moisturizer and all other skin care products.”
