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America is about to get a taste of Chicago-style culture. The Illinois Office of Tourism under the leadership of Lynda Simon is preparing the nationwide launch of a striking new print and broadcast tourism campaign for Chicago with the focus squarely on culture and the aesthetics of life in our city. Arts organizations have long criticized both state and city tourism offices (which have been legion in the case of the city) for not doing more to promote the city’s burgeoning cultural attractions; this campaign should help quell the griping. Prepared by McConnaughy Barocci Brown, a boutique agency headquartered in North Pier, the campaign is more visual than verbal. The centerpiece is a 60-second TV spot called “Utopia” that effectively plays up the drama inherent in much of the city’s modern architecture. Most of the commercial consists of quick cuts from building to building with the camera poised at the base of each, looking straight up a glistening facade into dramatically shifting cloud formations. There also are shots of a sunlit room in a Frank Lloyd Wright house and the long, futuristic, neon-lit tunnel connecting Helmut Jahn’s two United Airlines concourses at O’Hare. The spot ends with an unexpected twist–a jump to Wrigley Field, where we see Harry Caray leading the masses in a chorus of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” The last line of the voice-over notes: “What’s remarkable about this city of tomorrow is that you can have a blast there today.” According to Tom McConnaughy, president of the ad agency, the ballpark segment provides a softer, warmer contrast to the hard-edged architectural segments in the spot. Interestingly the commercial never succumbs to the temptation to provide even one sweeping aerial shot of the lakefront or Loop. The obvious stuff is all left up to the viewer’s imagination.
Shakespeare Repertory wants to become an established theater company. That means a subscription season, and that means that after four years of producing only one Shakespearean work a year, artistic director Barbara Gaines is doubling the annual production schedule. In January 1991 the company opens King John, and that will be followed in February with Much Ado About Nothing; Gaines plans to run the two works in repertory at the Ruth Page Auditorium. Doing so will enable her to offer a subscription series, something she considers essential to her company’s long-term viability. But it also will mean a doubling of the budget to approximately $630,000. “I’m not going to cut costs just to get more shows produced,” says Gaines. She is working now to secure the funding.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photo/Loren Santow.
