The concept of “Fruit Buzz” will be communicated to the female audience through “girl speak”.

McDonald’s Has Buzz Over Green Fork
May 11, 2005

CHICAGO — McDonald’s is supporting the launch of its Fruit & Walnut Premium Salad with a multimedia push and a “Green Fork” animated character in a campaign dubbed “Fruit Buzz.”

The marketing effort, via Burrell and DDB, Chicago, broke this week with 15- and 30-second TV spots, McDonald’s largest print buy and POP featuring Destiny’s Child. Spend was not given.

A part of “It’s what I eat and what I do” food/energy balance platform, “Fruit Buzz” is a “change in attitude and an overall happy feeling one gets after eating the Fruit & Walnut Premium Salad,” the fast-feeder said in a statement. “The concept of ‘Fruit Buzz” will be communicated to the female audience through ‘girl speak,’ allowing McDonald’s to talk to women in the same language that women talk to each other.”

In an animated spot via Burrell, a young woman is walking down the street on a spring day, but when she opens the door to her friend’s house she is transmogrified into her animated persona and is then ready to “Get a Fruit Buzz”.

McDonald’s print buy includes more than 30 multicultural titles and more than 20 in-language Asian specific publications. Inserts will appear in publications such as Vanity Fair, Bon Appetit, Essence, Estylo and Oprah. Also, in partnership with Conde Nast, many of its publications will include a Starburst insert and taglines like “It’s that feeling you get when everything is 60% off,” “Makes me feel better than knowing my ex-boyfriend is still single” and “Having one makes even a bad hair day feel good.”

“I actually invoked that Pat Benatar just now.”

Café Ruba, on Newport Boulevard, is my emergency backup coffeehouse. Like the 17th St. Diedrich it has a large open patio. Unlike the Diedrich it also has a pool table, lots of televisions, some couches, a variety of energy drinks and cigarettes for sale, much later hours, Orangina, and Costa Mesa’s demimonde. Okay, that last one is an oxymoron. The people at Café Ruba are one of:

  • High school misfits with adjustment problems
  • Twenty-something misfits with nasty drug problems
  • Thirty-something misfits with nasty drug problems and criminal records
  • Forty plus misfits with nasty drug problems, criminal records, and an unhealthy interest in high school misfits
  • People of all ages and backgrounds who are just barely outpatients
  • Unsuccessful serial killers
  • About five people I know and like.

imnottravis, the_silent_one, the Mascot and I went there tonight because D’s closed and we weren’t done. Jared and the mascot played pool with Clayton, who is one of the five people. I talked with some people but mostly people-watched. I counted four Inappropriate Geek Fedoras. While listening to the worst hard rock of the 80s, I saw one of the worst haircuts of the 80s come in attached somehow to a 17 year old girl. I had a breve. I only have a breve at Ruba, which is good because I don’t go there often and it’s not smart to drink 16 ounces of half and half.

I was very happy for the_silent_one for having the best two days in forever. She deserves that.

There’s a couple that comes to Diedrich a lot and just sits there and smokes and talks. At least I think they’re a couple; they’ve never been physically affectionate in any way. They never interact with anyone else if they don’t have to, but they’re polite. She’s a pretty East Asian woman with a knockout body and a tramp stamp; he’s a very well-groomed quiet white guy with a unibrow. Tonight I found out that they come to Ruba too; there, they play the same video game for two straight hours, also without interacting with anyone else or being physically close. They really intrigue me and I want to know their story. I keep spying on them to figure out their lives: Hmm, they’re studying for the LSAT. Hmm, he’s complaining about his job but I can’t hear details. Hmm, hmm.

And now, I hereby invoke rule #6. I’m having inappropriate feelings but I will not say about what. Boo-yaa!

Danica Patrick takes 4th place at Indy

…pretty amazing for a 23 year old rookie, and a huge step forward for women in racing. Love the whining from others about how she only weighs 100 pounds. Go work out guys, or put a Vietnamese guy on your team. If the “chick” can do a 228 mph qualifying run, I think you should just try to beat her instead of being.. well… PUSSIES about it.

Janet Guthrie must be damned proud of her. Wish they hadn’t run Janet out of the sport. I think I’m gonna get her autobiography that just came out. Always admired her.

“That was almost always in a situation where someone was upside down, of course.”

Got up a bit later than I wanted but didn’t need coffee. Medicinal speed is different. I do feel a bit more awake generally, but not “hyper” or manic. More calm and focused, still. I’m up to 15 mg of the stuff, and I’ll talk to the guy next week about whether I should go up or stay here. It’s odd to realize that I’m taking a fairly powerful amphetamine and I just feel normal. Hey, maybe that’s because I have this syndrome!

It was good to see kennfusion today. He’s looking trim and rested and seems to have defeated New York pretty handily. Considering that he’s also had to deal with Somalia, El Salvador, Colombia, Kurdistan, and The Valley it isn’t so surprising.

And wow, also maineiac_eric in the same day. Old home week, etc.

It was a very nice Memorial Day/Laura’s Fiscal Birthday party at the Bex0rz. Bave andd Dethya put out a helluva good table including orgasmic macaroni & cheese and really cool baked beans made with coffee! Also there was about a quarter ton of meat. I think joyfulagitator brought an entire pig.

South County really sucks. In the “I will drive my $50,000 SUV at 80 mph through the red light because AMERICA FUCK YEAH!” way, it sucks.

I think I’m dating my cat for the foreseeable future. She’s the only one who will fall asleep on my leg.

It was Paul Anka, in the Merzbow House, with a gerund!

The usual suspects at D’s tonight. Everyone was manic and hormonal. More sexual outuendos per second than we’ve had in months. I was the odd one out and found it a bit hard to connect with, probably because I’m finishing my first week of a drug that makes me calmer and more focused and tonight was neither calm nor focused.

The guy with the hat that covers his eyes played tonight. He strums almost randomly as though in his bedroom at home. Occasionally he’d do an old Pink Floyd song or something else recognizable. He rarely sings, and when he does that sounds like the bedroom too. In general he doesn’t seem to notice that he’s performing or remember what song he’s playing, and often he just stops in the middle and sits there for a few minutes, and then starts playing again. He never looks up, and his bucket hat never stops covering his eyes. I think Candy was going to kill him right in the head.

When his wife shows up she sings and does so pretty well, and it’s tolerable. Also she’s hot. Otherwise I really wonder what his purpose is in life.

I think I want to learn how to shoot a rifle.