Lights? Camera? Action? Zip it?
Southwest Airlines stationed more than half a dozen trucks, trailers and vans along Larimer Square between 14th and 15th streets Wednesday to shoot the newest commercial in the series starring real-life baggage handlers.
Want more details? Get in line. Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz was lip-zipped when I prodded him for the deets.
“The filming is just an extension of our national ad campaign where we are featuring our own employees,” Mainz said. “We’re getting them out of the airport and into the communities we serve.”
And?
“We typically don’t talk too much about our campaigns or the filming until they launch, so that’s about all I can tell you,” he said.
The shoot, which garnered curiosity from passers-by, was done inside Rioja, a fine-dining restaurant owned by chef Jen Jasinski and business partner Beth Gruitch, who were also instructed not to dish.
“There was more film equipment packed into that little restaurant than was used on ‘Citizen Kane,’ ” said my spy.
Ad game.
You win some, you lose some. Just days before the Denver shoot for Southwest Airlines, the air carrier rejected a new PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) ad on the grounds that it was “too sexy” for the in-flight magazine.
The ad promoting a vegan diet shows an airport-security X-ray scan of a woman wearing only underwear, with the tagline: “Be proud of your body scan: Go vegan.”
The ad was deemed by Diane Ciaglia, senior account manager of Southwest’s Spirit magazine, to be “too provocative to run in our publication.”
PETA senior vice president Dan Mathews countered that Southwest has a reputation for racy campaigns such as a vintage spot showing hostesses in hot pants.
Meanwhile, Southwest competitor Frontier Airlines’ spokesanimals have something to roar about after learning they’ve won an Effie award, the crème de la crème in the world of advertising.
The win is in the sustained-success category, but it won’t be known whether it’s a gold, silver or bronze statue until the June 8 ceremony in New York. Frontier is up against Phillips Distilling Co. and the U.S. Marine Corps for the coveted top spot.
Museum move.
The Children’s Museum of Denver launched an extensive nationwide search for its new head honcho and found him in its own playground.
Mike Yankovich, the museum’s chief operating officer and interim president, was tapped to fill the top job. The vacancy came after former president and chief executive Tom Downey left after 4 1/2 years to take a new gig as head of the Timothy and Bernadette Marquez Foundation.
Yankovich, 42, has been with the Children’s Museum of Denver since 2003 in positions that have included director of education, vice president of guest experience and COO.
The board was unanimous in choosing Yankovich as the museum’s next leader, said Deborah Wapensky, chairwoman of the museum’s board of directors.
Eavesdropping
A woman to a man about aging:
“Try going to your 40th high school reunion. Man, those people are old!”
Penny Parker’s column appears Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Listen to her on the Caplis and Silverman radio show between 4 and 5 p.m. Fridays on KHOW-AM (630). Call her at 303-954-5224 or e-mail pparker@denverpost.com.
