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In the January 28, 2003 edition of the USA Today paper, Chevrolet took out their ninth full page ad, which congratulated Michelle on her accomplishment at Nationals. The picture was of Michelle smiling on the podium wearing her Nationals gold medal. Towards the bottom of the ad, in bold it said, "Now you have one to wear on Sundays." Underneath that, in smaller print, it said, "Congratulations, Michelle, on winning your seventh U.S. Figure Skating Championships." I haven't had a chance yet to scan in the beautiful ad. blondeanglskater posted on the MK Forum that there is a new magazine ad for the Michelle Kwan R.E.W.A.R.D.S scholarship program Michelle has with Chevrolet. The ad is in the February 2003 issue of Seventeen Magazine on the inside back cover. greenwolf later posted that the ad is also in the February 2003 issue of Cosmogirl. In the ad, Michelle is wearing black pants and a red tank top, doing a spiral while holding a book. At the top of the page is "Student athletes have to work twice as hard. Which is why we've offered some help" on a piece of "notebook paper." greenwolf scanned it in. Check it out! (Thanks blondeanglskater and greenwolf!) nanigirl01 posted the following on the MK Forum about Michelle appearing in a new commercial: (Thanks nanigirl01!)
I have not seen this commercial, argh! Michelle will be in Hong Kong from December 2-6, 2002 as part of her Disney contract, to promote the Disney On Ice Jungle Book tour. On December 2, Michelle will be rehearsing for the show. She will skate on December 3 at 3:30 in the show at the Glacier Festival Walk rink, which is in Kowloon Tong. elyn524 posted on the MK Forum about this appearing in Hong Kong's Sun Daily Newspaper. The paper also said that Lu Chen will be there as well. Toly later posted a confirmation of this information on the MK Forum, after talking with someone at the Glacier rink. (Thanks elyn524 and Toly!) Lots of info on Michelle's trip to Hong Kong. There were several first hand reports on the MK Forum of Michelle's skating (she skated to Fields of Gold), press conference, and appearance the next day at the American Chamber of Commerce luncheon. The post also contained translations of articles and interviews, and links to pictures. Check out the following pictures from her appearance at the rink in Hong Kong, which promoted the Disney on Ice Jungle Book tour:
Also, Michelle did an interview for CNN TalkAsia, which will air in a few weeks. Hopefully, we can find out in advance from the show's website! The piece aired later that month. thvudragon posted a video clip, which was made by ggyyMK, of the interview on the MK Forum. There are two links...one for those with a fast connection and one for those with dialup. MaryJo is hosting the clips on her site. Check it out (scroll down on her page for the links)! (Thanks thvudragon, ggyyMKF, and MaryJo!) Radio Disney had a contest to win a skating lesson with Michelle. Unfortunately, by the time this was posted on the MK Forum, the contest had ended. Oh well! (Thanks Shallah!) Michelle will also be in New York the next day after her Today show appearance. On Thursday, November 14, Michelle will be at the Times Square Toys "R" Us store to light a spectacular 25-foot, purple Disney Princess Holiday Tree! She will be joined by Disney Princesses Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, and Cinderella. The event takes place from 2pm-6pm. "Family Fun" magazine and Flying Colors will provide all materials necessary for each child in attendence to make their very own magic wand. Then, at 4pm, Michelle and the Disney princesses will "bestow gifts of kindness, caring, beauty, learning, love, believing in dreams and graciousness upon the magnificent tree." Finally, everyone in attendence will use their wands to light the tree. After the lighting of the tree, Michelle will greet guests, sign autographs and pose for pictures. Michelle will also sign copies of her books, The Winning Attitude! and My Special Moments, which will be available for purchase at the store during the event. Toys "R" Us Times Square is located at 1514 Broadway (at 44th St.). Those seeking more information on the Disney Princess Holiday Tree Lighting may call the Toys "R" Us Hotline at 646-366-8855. Hopefully some of you out there can attend the event...and get lots of pictures! Check out the following reports and pictures from fans who attended the Times Square Toys "R" Us tree lighting with Michelle on Thursday, November 14, 2002. All reports are from the MK Forum. If anyone else attended, and would like to share a report and/or pictures, please let me know! Reports from MKF (each may include reports from other posters in the same thread, so be sure the read the entire thread!):
Also, be sure to check out liv2tell's pictures from the event. Livia typed up a transcript of the Times Square Toys "R" Us tree lighting ceremony. Check it out! (Thanks Livia!) To promote her Toys R Us appearance on November 14, Michelle was on the local New York FOX morning show, Good Day New York, around 8:10. Throughout the show, they promoted that she would be on. For example, one time they said "Michelle Kwan, the most decorated ice skater, slides her way into the "Good Day New York" studios this morning. She's here to help us kick off the holidays." I received this info from tveyes.com, which, of course, only sends part of the interviews. Here's what I was able to get from tveyes.com:
Ernabel: She's America's most decorated ice skater. Her power and grace has helped her win more world championships than any other american skater please welcome Michelle Kwan to our studio. She's in town. MK: Hi, everybody. Ernabel: Right into the holiday season. She in fact has brought her own christmas tree. MK:This is a replica of the one that's going to be lit this afternoon at 4:00 At Toys R Us. Ernabel: And the reason you're here in New York. Tell us about today's event. Sounds like a lot of fun. MK: It's really exciting. 2:00, Kids can come in and make their own wands and actually I have a surprise for you. Ernabel: I love surprises. MK: We have this very special guest and a little gift for you. Ernabel: Oh, it's Belle. MK: You'll see Belle and you'll see Snow White and all the princesses. Ernabel: How wonderful. MK: It's one of these magic wands, right? Ernabel: Can it make Dave PSrice disappear?... If anyone caught the full interview, and could send me a transcript, I'd be grateful! Also, Garden Kitty posted the following on the MK Forum: (Thanks Garden Kitty!)
Check out a short article about Michelle working with Disney. Includes two pictures...one of her recording lines for Mulan 2, and one of her doing a sit spin as a model for Disney animators for a skating competition between Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck in Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas. (Thanks Bernie!) "Time For Kids: The Inside Scoop" is a new series of innovative and interactive books for children ages 8 and up by Time For Kids and LeapFrog. The Inside Scoop brings the Time For Kids experience to life with sound effects, music and challenging games that make learning about the world around them fun and engaging. The first book in the series is a behind-the-scenes look at movies. The next book from the series will be about sports, and feature such sports luminaries as Tony Hawk, Kobe Bryant, Michelle Kwan and Tiger Woods. The sports-themed book will have sound effects, interactive games, celebrity interviews, "Did you know?" factoids, trends, puzzles, maps and charts. These activities are designed to encourage the development of critical thinking skills as they test children's knowledge levels and natural instincts to discover how things work. For more information, check out the press release. I wrote earlier about about the Cigna commercial with Michelle. Well, Paul sent me a transcript of the commercial. Check it out:
Michelle: It felt so good to make a difference in their lives, to make them happy, to see them smile. Narrator: For more on the Power of Caring, log onto www.cnnsi.com/caring. Paul also wrote that he was able to tape the commercial because he noticed that CIGNA commericals are shown between 20 and 25 minutes after the hour and 50 and 55 minutes after the hour on the CNN Headline News channel. (Thanks Paul!) Another ad with Michelle! In the September 16, 2002 issue of People magazine, Michelle is featured in a Cigna ad on page 41. The ad is part of Cigna's public awareness campaign called The Power of Caring. According to Cigna's website, the program of editorials, which runs in Time, People, Fortune and Sports Illustrated magazines, features extraordinary people who have dedicated themselves to helping others through significant involvement in charitable causes. Their dedication, generosity and prominence leads the way for the rest of us to get involved, because together, we can really make a difference for others who need our help. The ad with Michelle concentrates on her work with the Childrens Miracle Network. This ad also appeared in the September 16, 2002 issue of Time and Sports Illustrated magazines! dec5 scanned in the ad. Check out the picture of Michelle in the ad and the ADD LINK full ad. (Thanks dec5!) Rich4Kwan posted the following on the MK Forum that Cigna had a TV commercial with Michelle on CNN: Aria later posted more information on the commercial in the thread, as seen below: (Thanks Rich4Kwan and Aria!) Order of Commercial: 1. Starts out with Michelle spinning in her original FOG outfit (the blue one she wore for the Skating Tribute a year ago). 2. Shows clips of her skating in various other dresses. (When I see it a third time, I'll try to post them here. I do remember it showed the one she wore in that picture with Frank at a 2001 Worlds practice). 3. Then, it discusses CMN (Children's Miracle Network), showing some clips of children in the hospital. 4. Shows clips of Michelle skating with children, like the picture in the Cigna ad in People. I'm not sure I'm remembering everything. I'll try to flesh my post out more with more viewings. IIRC, I don't think the pictures from the LA Times article are the same as this Cigna TV commercial. Maybe the LA Times pictures are from another upcoming commercial. Several others have seen the ad (I haven't yet!) and it seems to be shown at 40 minutes past the hour each time. Maybe that's just when people are catching it, but it could be a help for others to see it as well! Check out the Michelle Kwan section on Cigna's Power of Caring site, where you can watch a clip of the TV commerical. The September 17, 2002 edition of the LA Times had a great article about Michelle titled, Good as Gold. There is a lot of interesting information in the article. It says that Michelle has only recently started training again last week at L.A.-area rinks. She will decide " in the next week or two" if she will compete at Nationals and Worlds this season. The article says, "She hasn't hired a coach, although she has said she would if she continued competing. She has been busy with her Disney duties and with deciding whether her best chance for fulfillment lies on film or on the ice, chasing the one honor that has eluded her." As part of her three year deal with Disney, Michelle recently recorded a voice over in a Hollywood recording studio for "Mulan 2," a direct-to-video release scheduled for 2004. Michelle has three lines, plus a "wail." The following are quotes from the article about the voice-over:
[Michelle] takes a deep breath, then utters Line 506. "We just got in some excellent ginger," says Kwan, the voice of a shopkeeper named Michelle. Try it again, she's told. Faster. Slower. Perky. She does. Finally, there are several versions editors can choose from when the scene is assembled. It's on to Line 509. "How about some fresh ginseng?" she asks brightly. Again, please. Whispered. Louder. Enticing. Another series of takes, then an "in" joke conceived to elicit laughs from kids because it sounds funny and guffaws from those who know skating lingo. "We have a special today," she says, leaning forward and mugging for a nonexistent camera. "Fresh salchow. Yum, yum." She's a hit. As a reward, she gets to do another line, the comically drawn-out wail of someone who nearly falls but pulls off a Kwan-like, graceful landing. She's finished in about 35 minutes. "Hey, you're good at this," Thomason says. Kwan is relieved. "Can you imagine doing 100 pages?" she asks The article says that her contract with Disney as their "global spokeswoman" is the the company's "most extensive deal with an athlete. It eclipses a five-year deal Disney made with golfer Tiger Woods a year ago, because his is for broadcast work only. Hers extends to parks, radio, theatrical, video and voice-overs." It also sheds more light on the contract, writing that "Kwan's Disney deal, estimated at $1 million a year, provides for appearances at Disney theme parks in China and Hong Kong, on Disney Channel programs and possibly ABC sitcoms, and doing voices in "Mulan" sequels." Also, during a day off from the tour, she spent a morning in Pasadena filming scenes that will be references for animation drawings of a figure skating competition between Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck in the movie "Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas." Mike Mendenhall, president of marketing and synergy for Walt Disney Studios, says of her potential, "The sky's the limit. To us, she's a great role model for kids and teens. She truly has the right attitude, the right ethics, the right personality. She's contemporary. She's relevant." He also said, "Here's a woman who's so well-rounded and is diverse. We never really even considered that. You just look at the type of person she is, the qualities she brings within her personality, her leadership, focus, commitment. Staying with something, staying committed to something. 'Don't let minor disappointments along the way keep you from your dreams, kids. Follow your dream.' It's about passion, and for me that's so much more." Other good news from the article is that Chevrolet extended its endorsement deal with her after the Olympics. Dianne Harper, a promotional manager for Chevrolet, said "To be honest, we got a lot of questions after the Olympics. Like, 'She didn't win the gold medal, so ... ' And I was, like, 'Yeah, and your point?' It doesn't matter. It's who she is, and her value to us doesn't decrease because she doesn't have a gold medal. The original reasons we liked Michelle hold up today." I could keep quoting, but if I keep going, I'll just be posting the whole article! It's definitely worth checking out. It also contains the following 4 pictures:
amethystbatgirl posted on the MK Forum that there is a new Chevrolet ad in the October 2002 issue of Teen People. Check out what she posted on the forum: This ad is also in the October 2002 issue of YM, Cosmogirl, and Seventeen magazines. pookybear19 wrote on the MK Forum that the lettering in the white box says: "They've succeeded in academics, athletics and winning up to $5000 in scholarships. Their next big challenge? Sharing a bathroom." amethystbatgirl also posted a digital picture of the ad, and pookybear19 scanned in the ad. (Thanks amethystbatgirl and pookybear19!) Michelle will be at ABC's Primetime Preview Weekend at Disney's California Adventure, which takes place on August 24 and 25, 2002. You can see Michelle's name on the list of attendees. The LA Daily News article, ABC stars going Disney, says that Disney is "trying some corporate synergy by sending the stars of its new prime-time shows to Disney's California Adventure in Anaheim for a two-day fanfest this month." Also from the article: For more information, check out ABC's official site. More info on Michelle's appearance at the ABC Primetime Preview Weekend at Disney's California Adventure on August 24, 2002. Thanks to Grace and Anna, I was able to listen to the Q&A over Anna's cell phone! I took a couple of notes, though I obviously missed some things (like when the very pro-Michelle crowd at the event screamed for her often!) She was introduced by saying "if you live here, you certainly know her" and called her a "living legend." It was hard to hear all the other things he was saying because, like I said, lots of screaming! When she spoke, she was asked what she's been doing, if she goes on the ice everyday. She said she's just taking some time. Around the end of the August or in September she'll go back on the ice. But she said she's been working on getting programs for this season together. She said she's been doing some things for Disney, which "has been fun." She also said she wanted to continue at UCLA. The host asked how the hometown support has been, and she said it's been "amazing." Later, when people asked questions, the first question (asked by a member of the MK Forum!) to Michelle asked about a coach. She said she is definitely going to look for a new coach. She said she doesn't know where to start looking, though. That it's hard because she was with her former coach for 10 years, and it's hard to "find that bond." She said she loves California, and doesn't want to move, but she knows that she may have to move to find a coach. At one point, she said something about doing programs not only for this season, but when she will need programs next year as well. I was happy when I heard that, that she was even thinking about next season. Another question asked was how many trophies she has. She said she doesn't know, that her mom and dad keep them all at their house. She said her parents keep everything, newspaper clippings (she said they even laminate them), videos, things like that. I thought that was so cute. :) Anyway, the host asked if it's a room full of medals, and she kind of sheepishly answered "yea..." It was cute. Another person asked if she's going to have any TV Specials this year, like she's had in the past. She said not right now, nothing is planned. She said she loves doing them, though, like her Mulan special. She said "it's always fun" and that it's different because you can show "personality." She said in shows her "friends skate," and there's "variety." During one of these questions (I think the one about the trophies?), the woman said that her son wanted to know if Michelle could do one of the rides with her. Lots of laughter. I don't think she ever answered him, though! At another point, Michelle said something about the tour, skating to Fields of Gold, and lots of screams. Check out my post on the event from the MK Forum. Those that were there gave more detail in the post as well. For example, here's the part I missed about Fields of Gold, as posted by kjesse: Before the event, Michelle was on the other side of the "lake" and arrived by boat. Also, later in the day, there was a "Parade of Stars." According to kjesse, she was in about the 8th car, riding with Snow White, after the Drew Carey show stars and the Monday night Football crew. Someone brought up that maybe shows like Entertainment Tonight will show footage from the event on Monday? Check out Corbon's pictures from both the Q&A and parade. Corbon also sent me his videos of Michelle at the event. They are all MPG files. Check them out: (Thanks Corbon!)
Also, California Adventures broke attendance records this past weekend because of the event! For more information, check out the press release. The 10 winners of the second annual Chevrolet/Michelle Kwan R.E.WA.R.D.S Scholarship Program were recently announced. The program recognizes and assists outstanding college-bound female athletes from across the country. Of the 10,000 graduating seniors who applied, 10 were selected based on outstanding performance in the following categories: academics, athletics, leadership, participation in school/community activities, financial need and personal essay. Each winner receives $2,000 for the first year of college, and $1,000 each for the next three years, as long as the recipient meets renewal criteria. These 10 young women met Michelle in Long Beach, CA., on July 11 at the Champions On Ice show. The following day, award recipients attended a formal awards presentation and dinner with Michelle in Santa Monica, CA. XPEG posted the following on the MK Forum: (Thanks XPEG!)
My local paper had a blurb about a local high school student, Jennifer Serpe, who won a $5000 college scholarship as part of the Chev Michelle Kwan REWARDS Scholarship Program. Serpe and nine other winners were chosen from more than 10,000 entries. She will meet Michelle when the winners are honored in a ceremony July 12 in Long Beach. I hope the newspaper has a picture and maybe a story about it. The paragraph didn't say what sport Serpe participates in or why she was selected. Stay tuned. Some fun info that I just found on the Campbell's Soup commercial that Michelle did in 1998 with Tara Lipinski and Nicole Bobek. If you remember, the heat of the soup melted the ice rink where Michelle, Tara, and Nicole were standing. For the filming of the commercial, the skaters were in the middle of a rink, but they actually stood on a green floor that was on the ice. Later, the water was computer generated, replacing the green floor. Watch a short mpeg clip of the commercial. Check out AFCG's website, the company that created the special effects in the commercial, for more info. Angel of Joy posted the following on May 13, 2002 the MK Forum: (Thanks Angel of Joy!) Hopefully, these billboards will be going up all over the country, and you (and I!) can catch it! Michelle is involved in another charity. You can bid on ebay for a T-shirt designed, and signed, by Michelle. The shirt has an American theme. The front of the shirt (see picture) says "Born in the USA" in red, blue, and gold, with a gold star. The back of the shirt (see picture) has an American flag, bordered in gold, with Michelle's autograph under the flag. The auction is part of the Snuggle Celebrity Soft-T's Auction. Snuggle is tapping into the softer side of celebrities, and asking them to decorate T-shirts that will be auctioned off on eBay, with all proceeds benefiting the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses. The auction ran from May 5 through May 15, 2002. Michelle's T-shirt went for $4,850...by far the highest bid for any of the celebrity designed T-shirts! The second highest, Rosie O'Donnell's T-shirt, went for $1,225. Also, the US Figure Skating team had two T-shirts up for auction. These T-shirt weren't a designed T, but a USA shirt signed by several skaters, including Michelle, Sarah Hughes, Timothy Goebel, Sasha Cohen, Michael Weiss. The first USFSA T-shirt (see picture) auction also ran from May 5 through May 15, 2002. The shirt went for $203.50. The second USFSA T-shirt (see picture) was up for auction from May 12 to May 22, and went for $255. Check out the full gallery of all of the designed T-shirts. Michelle4ever posted on the MK Forum that Michelle was on Radio Disney. Michelle was doing some sort of station promotion for Radio Disney (I guess it's the beginning of her new Disney contract kicking in?) Michelle4ever wrote that she heard Michelle say, "Hi, This is Michelle Kwan. --something ice skating disney (sorry can't remember)--This is Radio Disney." (Thanks Michelle4ever!) Michelle was in Disney World on Friday, April 5, 2002 with Timothy Goebel. They rode in a motorcade, and also both put their hands, skates, and signatures into cement. renaem131 posted on the MK Forum: Then I had to leave to meet a group of students and turned back for one last look as I was by the front gate. I saw her car coming down the street and found a completely open place by some Disney employees and characters. I stood there right by the rope and was fully expecting to be asked to go somewhere else but that didn't happen. Michelle came right by!!! I was less than 10 feet from her . . . . and took even more pictures. She looked gorgeous. She was wearing a burgundy tank top. Timmy was cute too but I don't remember what he was wearing--I think a t-shirt. I'm assuming that they were in town for the Orlando performance of COI. I still can't believe it. I almost didn't stay in that park and was supposed to go to the Magic Kingdom earlier but got into the Rock 'n Roller coaster and ended up being there longer (for all you grammar freaks of which I am one . . . .please excuse my run-on sentence, I am still very exhilarated!) I heard Disney people saying that they were going to shut down some rides so that she and Timmy could go on them. Also, Nicalash wrote in another post on the MK Forum the following: I haven't seen any pictures or articles about this online yet. Hopefully something pops up. If not, hopefully renaem131's pictures will be posted later. (Thanks renaem131 and Nicalash!) More on Michelle appearing at Disney World on April 5, which I wrote about earlier. AOL posted a picture of Michelle putting her hands and skates into the cement. Check it out! Along with the picture, it said:
Also, renaem131 (Renae) has her pictures from the event up! She's letting me put some of the pictures on my site, but for now, you can see them on her site: Pictures page 1 and Pictures page 2. renaem131 also wanted to add something to the report she wrote earlier: "When the announcer introduced Michelle and Timmy, he said that he had never seen so many disposable cameras fly off the shelves so quickly!!" LOL, I can imagine! In the March 28, 2002 edition of the USA Today paper, Chevrolet took out their eighth full page ad, which congratulated Michelle on her accomplishment at Worlds. The picture was of Michelle holding her flowers and an American flag, wearing her Worlds silver medal. Towards the bottom of the ad, in bold it said, "You're right. It's not every day you become the most decorated US skater in World Championship history. Actually, it was Saturday." Underneath that, in smaller print, it said, "Congratulations, Michelle, on winning your seventh medal in the Worlds Figure Skating Championships, a record total for a US skater. As always, when the country depends on you, you deliver." I scanned in the beautiful ad. Check it out! I posted earlier about writing to companies that Michelle endorses to let them know how much you appreciate them working with Michelle. A lot of people have been telling me they are receiving positive feedback from the companies. For example, one e-mail from Chevrolet said "We appreciate your interest in Chevrolet and our use of Michelle Kwan in our commercials and ad campaigns. We are very proud of Michelle and her accomplishments. Rest assured that she remains a winner and a champion with us and you will be seeing more of her in our ads in the future." If you want to continue writing, check out this thread from MKF which lists e-mail links to not only companies Michelle works with, but TV and magazines which have had Michelle features. You can e-mail Dateline and the Tonight show, and tell them how much you loved their interviews with Michelle. And, don't forget to e-mail Disney through their site to thank them for their new deal with Michelle! Michelle has a new endorsement deal! Michelle had a deal with Walt Disney Network Television to produce skating specials, and with Disney's Buena Vista Publishing to publish her books. Well, now, Michelle is a full time spokeswoman for The Walt Disney company! The Walt Disney Co. announced on Tuesday, March 5, that Michelle will be a spokeswoman and celebrity representative for the company. This is the second recent deal between the Walt Disney Company and a high profile athlete --Tiger Woods signed with Disney in June, though Michelle's agreement and duties are said to be far broader than those performed by Tiger. Financial terms of the 3 year agreement between Michelle and Disney were not disclosed. Michelle will be a representative for a number of Disney products and services, including its theme parks, restaurants, cruise lines and hotels, as well as movies, television and radio. She will work with divisions throughout Disney. Among her activities at Disney, Michelle will make personal as well as radio and television appearances, host public service announcements and serve as a presenter at Disney awards programs. She will be featured in marketing and promotional activities for Disney's theme parks, restaurants, cruise line, hotels, publishing activities, consumer products, motion pictures, television and radio activities and retail stores. Disney spokesman Ken Green said the decision to sign Michelle was made before the Olympics, and was based on Michelle's previous relationship with the company. "We were planning this with (Kwan) regardless," Green said. "She's an icon ... She's got the charisma, the pizzazz, the enthusiasm and the international appeal we love. We saw her as the ideal celebrity spokesperson for us irrespective of how she would have performed in the Olympics this time." Michael Mendenhall, president of Walt Disney Studios Marketing and Synergy, said, "Michelle Kwan is the perfect person to represent our theme parks, sports, publishing, broadcasting and consumer products around the world. She has a huge worldwide appeal and is a role model for children and adults. Michelle exemplifies beauty, wholesomeness, grace and charm in addition to her athletic talent. These wonderful qualities and her outstanding sense of sportsmanship were especially evident at last month's Olympics. "We know a champion isn't made by the medals, rewards and plaques but by the sense of character that Michelle truly has. She is clearly a role model for kids, young adults and parents alike. "Our consumers and guests will enjoy seeing this immensely popular young skater in person and on television at various Disney events. These will range from the opening of new facilities to charitable events, ice skating events, guest appearances on original programming and at our ESPN Zone events, and at product promotions." Michelle said, "I've been a fan of Disney my whole life, so now to become part of the Disney family is incredible. I am delighted and truly honored to serve as a spokesperson for the company." For more information, check out the following articles:
Support Michelle by letting the companies she endorses know how you feel about their products because Michelle endorses them! Let Chevrolet know you loved the TV ad with Michelle, and would love to see more Michelle commercials in the future...tell Yoplait you enjoy their product, and love seeing Michelle advertise for them and appear on their boxes...etc. You can contact Chevrolet on their website, or e-mail them at cac@chevrolet.com. Others have already received responses from the company. Let Chevy know how much you appreciate them working with Michelle! You can contact Yoplait through their website. AIM Funds is still airing their ads with Michelle. You can e-mail them through their website. Also, don't forget Michelle's Disney contract, as well as their Buena Vista Publishing company, which publishes her books. You can e-mail Disney through their site. In the Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2002 edition of USA Today, they had this full page ad of Michelle with the zamboni that was in several magazines late last year for Chevrolet. It was on the back page of the newspaper's special Olympics section. This same ad appeared several more times in the paper during the Olympics. smileyllama posted on the MK Forum that a quicktime video of a Chevrolet commercial with Michelle is online. The clip is almost 6MB. It's so cute! Check it out. You can also see a screen capture from the final part of the ad, where Michelle is wearing her Dante's Prayer costume. Earlier in the ad, she is wearing a black practice costume. (Thanks smileyllama!) The Chevrolet commercial that I will be shown on TV during the Olympics according the the press release Chevrolet Launches Three New Divisional TV Spots For 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Winter Games. The commercial was first shown during the opening ceremonies, and was shown throughout the games. You can win a StarSkater Barbie! For more information, go to iskater.com's entry form. Guess what? I was one of the winners! Chevrolet had another one of their full page ads for Michelle in the January 21, 2002 edition of USA Today. This is the 6th one, and congratulates Michelle on her Nationals win. I've scanned it. Check it out! Last Sunday's (January 13, 2002) coupon insert in the local newspapers contained coupons for Yoplait, with the same Michelle ad that has been in the magazines lately. Some more Barbie information. Shallah posted on the MK Forum a video clip of Michelle during the CMN clinic where the dolls were unveiled. Watch the clip in real video or windows media format. Later in the post, NicoleM transcribed what is said in the short clip:
Also, Angel e-mailed me about Barbie.com updating their site with Michelle stuff. Go to Meet Michelle Kwan to read or listen to her answers to fans questions. The page also contains pictures (a different one with each question), and small flash video of Michelle doing several skating moves, such as a sit spin, scratch spin, and split jump. The site also has a page for Nationals coverage, which contains several pictures from the event. (Thanks Shallah, NicoleM, and Angel!) Beth posted on the MK Forum that she saw the Barbie Skater TV commercial with Michelle in late January 2002.They show her doing jumps and spins, and then a little girl asks Michelle to sign her Barbie. Michelle says "sure anything for a fan." Beth spotted the ad on FOX's daytime kids broadcasting. Others have spotted it on the Cartoon Network as well. So the best chance to catch the commericial is to watch kids programming. AIM, the company that Michelle does commercials for, was named the Best Mutual Fund Ad Campaign for 2001. For more information, read the press release. wunderbere posted on the MK Forum that there is a Yoplait ad with Michelle in the January 2002 issue of InStyle. wunderberewrote the following (Thanks wunderbere):
Dave scanned in the Yoplait Exprésse ad. Check it out! (Thanks Dave!) More info on the Yolpait ad. In addition to being in the Instyle magazine, it is also in Self and Cosmopolitan magazines. Moonkitty posted the following on the MK Forum about the ad in Cosmopolitan (Thanks Moonkitty, Jojocat, and CaraMora!):
Jojocat posted on MKF that the ad is in the January 2002 issue of Self magazine. She said in the ad, Michelle "has a twinkle in her eye and looks a little mischievous!" CaraMora later posted more on the forum about the ads:
Tandy later posted in the thread:
I've scanned in the front and back of the package: IceRose2002 posted on the MK Forum that on Good Morning America on Thursday, December 20, 2001, they showed a segment about the Chevrolet sports car that follows the Olympic torch relay. The car is autographed by all the celebrities that carry the torch. It also has this picture of Michelle on the car! Diane later posted that there is a big picture of Michelle on each car door. (Thanks IceRose2002 and Diane!):
There was an ad for the Hallmark snow globes in the December 14-16, 2001 editions of both the USA Weekend and Parade magazines. Both magazines are in the Sunday local papers. The ad has a picture of Kristi Yamaguchi, and a large picture of her snow globe. Next to the picture of Kristi, it says "We captured this moment. And added a snowstorm." That actually doesn't make too much sense since the photo of Kristi and her pose in the snowglobe are not the same (neither is the costume), but I get the idea, LOL. Then, in the lower right hand corner, is a small picture of the other three snow globes (including Michelle's). Next to these pictures, it says "Collect all four limited-edition Olympic figure skater snow globes featuring Tara Lipinski, Michelle Kwan, Kristi Yamaguchi, and Peggy Fleming spinning to music." The ad also includes price info. It says to visit Hallmark.com, but I don't see anything on their site about the globes. I forgot to mention when I bought my snow globe of Michelle (the day they went on sale, December 10.) The display with all the snow globes was right in the front of the store, as soon as you walked in the door. It was exciting, LOL. I like the box as well (has a picture of Michelle from Worlds). I scanned in the box: If you haven't bought yours yet, they are on sale through February 14, 2002. A press release from iskater.com and Barbie.com provide more information on Michelle's endorsement with Barbie. At some point, Barbie.com's Star Skater section, will include pictures from Michelle's recent competitions. Immediately following Michelle's competition at Nationals, Barbie's "interview" with Michelle will be posted on January 14 in audio and text on their site. Additional features planned for the Star Skater section in January include an interactive tutorial with video clips of Michelle Kwan at a charitable skating event (probably the November 19 CMN clinic that I wrote about earlier, which launched the Star Skater Barbie doll) and clips from her television commercial. Janice posted the following on the MK Forum (Thanks Janice!):
The Olympic Torch came to Orlando this evening (about 1 1/2 hours late). One of the few things they had that wasn't food was an interactive trailer hosted by Chevrolet. Outside the trailer was a media screen with Michelle Kwan inviting people in. Inside were some interactive games including a "design a skating program" with Michelle Kwan. There was a display on one side featuring Michelle's burgandy skating dress from last year, a pair of autographed skates and what may have been her first pair of skates. There was some hockey stuff, too, but I didn't want to wait for it, so I have no details. So, if the torch comes to your city, you might want to go down and check it out. I managed to go in early, so I didn't have too long a wait, but about 15 minutes later there was a huge line of people. Michelle is now featured on Barbie.com! On the calendar page is a graphic with Michelle that says "Meet Michelle Kwan." When you click on this, you are taken to "Meet Star Skater Michelle Kwan." Check out a screen capture of this page. On this page, there are 3 pictures of Michelle. There is an animated picture that flashed between picture #1 and picture #2. Both are of Michelle wearing her Song of the Black Swan costume from Worlds (my favorite!) The other picture of Michelle is of her doing a layback during SOTBS at Worlds. Scrolling across the top of the screen is "Don't miss Michelle's interview with Barbie, coming January 2002." From this page, you can go to two different sites. Click on "You can be a star skater", and check out a screen capture of this new page. This page contains a picture of the Barbie doll, and a picture of Michelle holding the doll. By clicking "submit" on this page, or from the original page, you are taken to "Share a skating tip or story." This page has the two pictures mentioned on the "You can be a star skater" site. Also, check out the following pictures relating to the doll:
Chevrolet's Olympic page has a graphic with Michelle. Also, their skating page has this picture of Michelle. AEHodman scanned in the pictures that I wrote about earlier of Michelle's Hallmark snow globe. The first picture is from inside the envelope, the second picture is from the catalog. (Thanks AEHodman!) I posted earlier about Michelle hosting a skating clinic with CMN kids to launch the Star Skates Barbie doll on November 19. Now, check out the press release about Michelle endorsing the Barbie doll. The event was was also in the local LA news. Also, kjesse posted MK Forum about a photo of Michelle in the Orange County Register (Thanks kjesse!):
PROFESSIONAL FIGURE SKATER Michelle Kwan gives a hand to a girl during a skating clinic for patients from Children's Hospital of Los Angeles on Monday in El Segundo. Photo: Nick Ut / Associated Press I wrote earlier that the Hallmark snow globe of Michelle would be in select Hallmark stores on December 10th. Here's some more info on the globes from the MK Forum (Thanks badhairday, Munchkin2000. Lucy25, and Yazmeen42skater!): From Munchkin2000:
Michelle Kwan--(Beethoven's Fur Elise) She is doing a spiral like she does at the very beginning of "East of Eden". Her leg is not as high as her famous spiral. The globes are 6 and 1/2 inches high and the skaters twirl to the music. The will be sold from December 10 through February 14 and are $12.95 once you purchase 3 cards. From Lucy25:
Anyway, each globe is 6 1/2 inches high and each has white snowflakes that dangle around the base of the globe around the base. Michelle's, Tara's, and Kristi's base are (oddly enough) all purple. Peggy's is blue. Ok, I just found a larger picture in a catalog that Hallmark included in their mailing. Her dress definitely has the tank-like top, and it looks like there are a couple of silver flowers on the skirt. She is wearing her necklace. I have to warn you, her face doesn't really look like Michelle! Just like the Peggy ornament does not look like Peggy. Yazmeen42skater posted:
Base of the globes is blue or purple with dangling snowflakes and hearts. Each skater is skating on a blue snowflake beneath their feet. They look nice and should be worth the money. I posted earlier about Michelle being on a Barbie doll box. Check out a picture of the front of one of the boxes (though there is another version of the box, with a picture of Michelle holding the doll.) The back has the picture shown above, plus a picture of Michelle doing a layback. Michelle will be hosting a skating clinic with CMN kids to launch the Barbie doll. The following is from BOI's news site: Barbie Doll, Michelle Kwan and 25 Children’s Miracle Network Kids Skate for the Gold to Celebrate the Launch of Star Skater Barbie doll. Michelle Kwan will host an ice-skating clinic for Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) kids from Childrens Hospital Los Angeles to celebrate the launch of Skar Skater Barbie doll on November 19, 2001 at HealthSouth Training Center in El Segundo, CA. After their lesson the kids will be treated to a pizza party, and each child will receive a Star Skater Barbie doll autographed by Ms. Kwan. tracey64 posted the following on the MK Forum about Michelle being on new Barbie doll boxes: (Thanks tracey64!)
There are three versions. One is Star Skater Barbie Doll, the other is Star Skater Barbie Doll (Asian), and the other is Star Skater Barbie Doll (African American). The description for both dolls on the etoys is: (Thanks Diane!)
I wrote earlier about the 2002 calendar that some Hallmark gold crown card members have received. Lisa scanned in all the pictures from the calendar, check it out. The pictures are so nice, I wish I could get the calendar! Very few people were able to get the calendar, so maybe if we all contact Hallmark, they might put it out for sale or something. Well, it's worth a try. You can contact Hallmark online, via phone at 1-800-Hallmark, or via snail mail at: Hallmark Cards, Inc.
(Thanks Shallah for the address!) I wrote earlier about a 2002 calendar that some Hallmark gold crown card members could receive. (I bought the required number of cards, and I'm a member, but I haven't received the calendar, so...we'll see.) Cy93LMG posted the following on the MK Forum about receiving the calendar. (I believe that when Cy93LMG writes the SOTBS red costume, it's from Worlds, and the "black dress with swirly pattern" is Miraculous Mandarin.):
cover - ina bauer (I think) in red sotbs dress January - spiral in black dress with swirly pattern on the one side February - closeup holding medal in red SOTBS March - fists of joy after free skate at worlds I think (red SOTBS) April - waving to crowd in White swan dress May - spiral in red dress June - beginning SOTBS pose in white dress - close up July - black dress with gold trim, rectangular medal waving flowers on podium August - layback in white sotbs September - exhibition spiral (light lavender? dress) October - orange eoe beginning pose November - exhibition spiral December - red SOTBS I'll scan them when I get a chance but I'm swamped and just made the time to post this at least! I love this calendar! Made my day to receive it! Thanks Cy93LMG! Michelle will be in a 2002 calendar! From BOI's site, Michelle will be one of the celebrities to "Grace The Pages Of 2002 Purina Dog Chow Incredible Dogs Calendar." All proceeds from the calendar benefit Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF). All you need to do is donate $5.00 to receive the calendar! For information on how to order the calendar check out the order page on ARF's website. Michelle is on the cover of the calendar, and in the month of January. Her picture is with a Golden Retriever named Traveler. Each celebrity also has a quote on their page, and the quote from Michelle says, "The saying has always been 'A dog is a man’s best friend.' Now that we’re in the 21st century, I’d like to think that sentiment could be expanded to 'A dog is man’s…and woman’s best friend,' as well." Check out the cover of the calendar! If you are a gold crown card member with Hallmark, you may be able to get a 2002 calendar with Michelle! I'm not sure of the exact details (some say you had to have received a special certificate, others say you just have to be a gold crown card member), but the basic deal is that you have to buy 5 cards at Hallmark before August 3. You have to be a Hallmark gold crown card member, but you can try calling 1-800-Hallmark, and see if they can answer any questions. I'm a member, I didn't receive a certificate, but I bought 5 cards anyway...so, we'll see what happens. Another charity involving Michelle. You can bid on ebay for a wooden heart that Michelle signed and decorated with colorful, heart-shaped balloons. The heart is painted wood with a twine hanger. The auction is part of Long Island Friends for Charity’s “Here’s My Heart” auction program, and all proceeds from this auction go to benefit Camp Heartland. Camp Heartland is a camp for children who have or have family members affected by HIV/AIDS. The auction ended July 8, 2001. Antoinette posted the following on the Michelle Kwan e-mail list: (Thanks Antoinette!) The first 10 winners of the Michelle Kwan R.E.W.A.R.D.S Scholarship met Michelle at a Santa Monica Beach Party, thrown by Chevrolet, on June 27, 2001. The winners were rewarded with a medal from Michelle, and had the opportunity to get to know the real Michelle during a volleyball match and lunch. For more information, check out the press release. Also, check out this page on the first 10 winners of the Scholarship, which includes two pictures of Michelle with the winners. A piece on the event was shown on the local NBC news that day. Check out a transcript of the interview. (Thanks IzzyS!) In the March 30 edition of USA Today, on the back page of the Sports section, there is another full page ad for Chevrolet, with a picture of Michelle on the podium at Worlds. Under the picture of Michelle, the ad says: Congratulations, Michelle, on winning your fourth World Figure Skating Championship I've scanned in this ad. Check it out! This is the 5th full page USA Today ad that Chevy has taken out with Michelle. You can see the past ones on my Chevrolet Endorsements page. Michelle has a new commercial! Somehow, the fact that Michelle was filming a new commercial flew under the radar of everyone, LOL. During 60 Minutes on CBS, I saw a commercial for AIM Funds starring Michelle. I was in shock seeing the commercial, so I don't remember much. I think she was wearing a red top and black pants. The commercial was of her skating around a practice rink. I remember her doing a Y spin. At one point, they put up "Michelle Kwan 3 time World champion." I know they also said something like "this is Michelle," which is what made me pick my head up in the first place. On AIM's 2001 TV Ad Campaign part of it's site, they list the three other "World Class Athletes" in the campaign, but they don't have Michelle listed yet. Hopefully, she'll be added soon. On this site, they say that the campaign features the athletes "practicing what they do best. The discipline they focus on their sports reflects Aim's philosophy of disciplined investing." If you missed the ad, the site also has the question, "Where will you see the 2001 campaign?" with the following":
CBS - 60 Minutes ABC - This Week FOX - News Sunday Cable Television A&E, Bravo, CNBC, CNN, CNNfn, Discovery, Golf Channel, Headline News, Lifetime, USA Plus! You'll continue to see Aim's ads in magazines and newspapers. So, keep an eye out for ad! I really liked it, and can't wait to get it on tape! Also, Linda posted earlier Sunday on the MK Forum about the ad (I don't know where she saw it, though.) Later, chemy wrote the following in the post: (Thanks Linda and chemy!)
"Today, there are no bright lights, no crowds, no tv cameras. It's just her, the ice & her desire to be nothing less than the best in the world (her name flashed "Michelle Kwan, 3-time World Champion")...discipline creates performance...AIM Funds, the idea is discipline, the purpose is performance" Visuals: forward scratch spin (far shot), footwork, split falling leaf, her back leaning on rink board (3/4 profile shot), more footwork, butterfly, sit spin, & triple jump (don't know which b/c she was mid-air), Y-spin (far shot)... She was wearing red sleeveless turtle neck & black pants. Btw, the rink got chandeliers...nice. There is now a press release on Michelle's involvement with AIM. Michelle has signed a multi-year agreement with AIM, and will be featured in a national TV ad campaign. There will be four television spots scheduled to run across the major networks on shows such as 60 Minutes, ABC's This Week and Fox News Sunday, and across cable networks on such shows as Larry King Live and Crossfire on CNN, and Intimate Portraits on Lifetime. Other cable networks scheduled to run ads are Fox News Network, A&E, CNBC, Lifetime, USA Network, Discovery, Bravo and ESPN. John Spencer of The West Wing provides the voiceover of the ads. One of the ads is a main brand version (I think this is the one spotted yesterday), while the other three ads include specific tags for such AIM Funds as AIM Basic Value Fund, AIM Mid Cap Equity Fund, and AIM Global Health Care Fund. For more information, read the press release! More on Michelle's new AIM commercial. AIM has now added a read video clip of the ad to their website. Check it out. Then, check out Karen's screenshots from the commercial. (Thanks Karen!) There was a full page Chevy ad of Michelle on the top of the podium with her medal in the February 1 edition of the USA Today paper. Check it out! The ABC ads that Michelle did promoting Nationals (and later Worlds) are now online, through ESPN's site! Check them out:
Another of the ABC ads aired during halftime of the Orange Bowl on ABC on Jaunuary 3. Michelle had on a red shirt and was sitting in a small room, with a parade of people coming into the room to "audition" programs for her. dec5 posted the following transcript of the ad on the MK Forum (Thanks dec!): Then cuts to a Female wrestler Kwan:"No".. Then a Hip hop dancer in army outfit. Kwan:"Next"........ Cheerleader who falls..... Kwan laughs. Snake woman with wagging tongue...... Kwan turns her head trying to leave..... And ends with Kwan still saying next...... The commercial ends with the words "US Nationals. January 20." taf posted on the MK Forum that one of Michelle's ABC ads aired during the Rose Bowl parade. Here's what she posted on the forum (Thanks taf!): Michelle will be promoting Nationals and Worlds for ABC in three humorous TV spots. In the ads, Michelle tells us how challenging it is to come up with new programs, costumes and music for a competition, and treats us to examples of some of the options her "people" present her with: bizarre leather and fur costumes, strange music and odd interpretive dance. The spots will start to air on January 1, and will be shown through the World Championships. The Advertising and Promotion vice president of ABC Sports said, "ABC Sports has a tradition of giving sports fans an up-close and personal look inside their favorite events. We were looking to combine this tradition with the sport's top skater, Michelle Kwan, to create awareness of the upcoming U.S. and World Championships. Our creative team of Rich Williams and Rob Stecklow took this strategy over the top and successfully developed a campaign that will get even the casual fan interested in our championship events." Also, the executive producer of the ads said that the director of the ads, Steve Eshelman, "allows Michelle to be herself. The camera loves her and her personality is really endearing." For more information, check out the article Michelle Kwan promotes U.S. and World Championships in three spots. You can now bid on the original, hand-illustrated Hope for the Holidays Greeting Card that Michelle designed, which I wrote about earlier, on yahoo's auction site. The money raised from the auction goes to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. The auction lasts from December 1, 2000 through December 14, 2000. As a reminder, you can check out the card that Michelle made. To bid, you can go to the Hope for the Holidays section on yahoo's auction site, or go right to Michelle's card auction page. For more info on the auction, check out the article Original Celebrity Holiday Card Artwork up for Bid. Chevrolet has updated their Michelle Kwan R.E.W.A.R.D.S Scholarship official site. Now available on the site:
College-bound high school girls who meet the standard of excelling in both academics and athletics will be eligible to apply for $2,000 for the first year of college and $1,000 a year for the next three years, providing they maintain the qualifying standard. The scholarships will go to 10 graduating seniors each year. Kwan, 20, is in her second year at UCLA, but because she attends part time (she is taking two classes this semester), balancing schoolwork with training for the 2002 Games, she still is a freshman. ''I'm delighted that my partnership with Chevrolet will help other young women achieve their dreams,'' Kwan said. In the November 3-5 edition of USA Today, there is a full page Chevrolet ad with Michelle. I scanned it in. Check it out! Michelle is part of an exclusive celebrity card program for charity. Michelle is one of the dozens of well-known celebrities who made holiday greeting cards that are hand-illustrated and signed. The cards are part of Hope For The Holidays, a program created to raise funds and awareness for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Boxed-sets of assorted Hope For The Holidays cards are available at select Old Navy locations and through the Old Navy online store. You can find out more information by reading the press release about the program, and seeing the full list of celebrities that are participating. Also, check out a picture of the card that Michelle designed! In the August 3 edition of USA Today, on the back page of the Olympic Glory section, there is a full page ad for Chevrolet, with a picture of Michelle doing a spiral in Hands at Worlds. Under the picture of Michelle, the ad says: (We couldn't resist that last one.) Whether it's awarding scholarships or providing funding for team training workshops, Chevrolet is proud to sponsor the United States Figure Skating Association year-round. This is the second ad that has taken out with Michelle. The first one was right after Worlds, congratulating her on her win. Before I had a chance to scan in the ad, Liz e-mailed me with the scan. Check it out! There is also the symbol for the USFSA and Olympic committee at the top of the ad, not shown in the scan. (Thanks Liz!) The ESPN commercial with Michelle has been airing! I have seen it several times when I least expect it! I think I have only seen the ad on ESPN or ESPN 2. If you haven't caught Michelle's ESPN commercial on TV, you can watch the commercial on ESPN's site! You can choose a real video file, or an avi file. The avi takes longer to download, but the picture is better. The avi is 2.2 MB. A little more on the ESPN commercial with Michelle! andycat wrote the following on the MK Forum: (Thanks andycat)
Just happened to turn on Good Morning America and a guest on the show from ESPN (I think) was showing and talking about the ESPN spots. And they showed a bit of Michelle's!! She looked great. The spot had her with two ESPN reporters beside her on either side (I think they were ESPN reporters)in a mock kiss-and-cry area with some high and low scores from U.S. states coming up at the bottom of the screen (like skating judges scores). It was cute, she kinda cringed when the lower scores came up... I think Charlie Gibson said something (to the ESPN guy) like, "You guys scored pretty low in Texas!" From what I could tell, it looks like it's going to be a very, very cute spot. More on the ESPN Sportscenter commercial that I reported on earlier. In the Monday, April 17 edition of USA Today, there was an article about the ads, ESPN's 'SportsCenter' ad campaign going strong. It concentrates on Michelle a lot. The article starts out talking about Michelle's ad, "Skater Michelle Kwan hugs Dan Patrick and Rich Eisen as the two anchors await their TV ratings after a lousy show." Here is a summary of the ad: There is also a color picture with the article from the commercial shoot. In the picture, Michelle is sitting in a kiss and cry type area (with a blue curtain), wearing her Red Violin costume and a huge smile, with her arms around the two anchors. The anchors have their heads down, holding towels to their eyes, with Dan Patrick holding flowers. I'll try to scan it in soon. Some more quotes from the article:
What's the lure for celebs? "The commercials are hilarious," Kwan replies. Just off a red-eye flight from Paris, Kwan is still on time for her first SportsCenter spot. The ads are shot quickly, usually in just a few takes. Kwan nails her performance and is on and off the set within a half an hour. Their pay? Try $1,000 donated to a charity of their choice. Since I wasn't online since Thursday, I couldn't post that Friday's edition of the USA Today paper had an ad on the back of the sports section from Chevrolet with Michelle! It was a full page ad. The picture was of Michelle with her medal at Worlds. Towards the bottom, in bold it says "Commitment is anything but a short program." Underneath that, in smaller print, it said "Congratulations, Michelle, on winning your third World Figure Skating Championship." I scanned it in (though it was hard to do for such a huge picture.) Check it out! Other than the two above TV appearences, there's another reason Michelle was in Tuesday New York...she's filming a commercial! I was listening to the Dan Patrick show on ESPN radio this afternoon, and he was talking about filming several new SportsCenter commercials. Someone else said how they are more popular than the show. So, he was giving a summary of each of the commercials, and I was kind of paying only half attention until he said "Michelle Kwan." Aaah! The commercial will the something about judging...she's going to judge, I don't know exactly. I believe he said they are being filmed in or near New York, so that could be the main reason why she was in the area to appear on the Today show and Regis and Kathie Lee. She'll probably be going to Baltimore for the first show tomorrow, but next week the tour is in New York, so who knows? Maybe she'll be on something else then. And hopefully, when they are in California, she'll be on Jay Leno's show. I can't seem to get it to work (though I usually can), but you can listen to a rebroadcast of Tuesday's radio broadcast by going to The Dan Patrick show, and then clicking on "Listen." It will only be available until around 1pm EST Wednesday. He discussed the commercials at the beginning of the show...no more than 20 minutes into it, so it should be easy to find. Michelle was mentioned more on the Dan Patrick show. Here's more info, courtesy of mano. (Thanks mano!)
Rob Dibble: Okay,
let's back up a little, isn't Michelle Kwan's single? Show Killer
needs a date. More on Teen Read Week! Blades on Ice Updates reports the following on their site: CHAMPION FIGURE SKATER MICHELLE KWAN TO LEAD THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION TEEN READ WEEK, OCTOBER 17 - 23, 1999 Figure skating champion Michelle Kwan will champion reading as the national campaign chair for the American Library Association's (ALA) Teen Read Week, October 17 - 23, 1999. The campaign aims to remind teens that reading is fun as well as important to their future success. "I'm delighted to support the ALA and this wonderful program," says Kwan, the two-time World champion and three-time National Champion. "I absolutely love to read; it's a huge part of my life. There is no limit to where you can go and what you can do in books. Reading lets my imagination run wild. Through this program, I hope to share my passion and enthusiasm for reading with other people my age and encourage them to read more." "We are thrilled to have Michelle on board for Teen Read Week. With Michelle leading the team as an outstanding role model for teens, we know we'll be able to reach thousands of young people to encourage them to 'read for the fun of it'," says Joel Shoemaker, president of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the Chicago-based ALA. Also on BOI's site is a picture of the poster with Michelle for libraries. Check it out! You can buy it online (though I can't seem to get to that site.) Or, you can call 1-800-545-2433, and press 7 to order the poster. On Friday, just after I was turned off my computer, I saw they were going to talk about the ABC banners that I wrote about earlier on This Morning's Business, a show on NBC. Basically, they were talking about the banners being illegal in LA because they didn't get the right permits (I think...I wasn't paying too much attention to what they were saying.) The reason I'm bringing it up is because they showed the banner with Michelle a lot! They showed the Practice banners a few times, but I think they showed the Michelle one the most! At one point, the camera concentrated on the Michelle banner, and then panned down to the reporter who was standing under that lamp post. Just thought you'd like to know. :-) Remember the lamp post banner of Michelle in LA? Well, Tracy reports on the MK Forum that there is another one! Here's what she has to say: (Thanks Tracy!) I was driving down Wilshire Blvd in Westwood (right by the UCLA campus) today where ABC is doing a huge campaign ad where they have these big banners attached to all the lightposts. Well, Michelle was on one of them, advertising for ABC Sports. They showed a picture of her doing a spiral from Ariane at Nationals. More places the ABC ads have been seen! From rssif: I've seen ads in NYC subway cars lately for ABC Sports featuring Jeff Gordon (I think) for auto racing, the announcers for Monday Night Football and Michelle for figure skating....There are similar ads on the bus stop benches here in LA. Again, if anyone else has spotted ads like these in other cities or places, let me know! Shallah posted this on the MK Forum. (Thanks Shallah!) I just read the following on RSSIF and am now searching for the article: Here's another list that came out, prepared by David Broughton of Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal. Here are the leading female endorsers: The source of this (New York) Daily News July 18, 1999
Ginger posted this cool sighting of Michelle on the MK Forum! (Thanks Ginger!) here in los angeles (i don't know if they're in other cities, too) on olympic blvd. (one of the major streets here), there are banners for ABC hanging on the lampposts. each banner has two parts. one part says something like "drama" and then the other part has a pic from the show "the practice". the "daytime" one has a picture from a soap opera (i don't watch soaps, so i don't know which one). the "comedy" one has a picture from some comedy show. anyway, for the banner that says "sports", the picture is of michelle kwan! she is doing the spiral from EoE. this might be hard to visualize, but hopefully i can take a picture of it and post it here. i thought this was interesting, and it further proves just how great michelle is. Has anyone spotted these in other cities? Let me know! In a poll asking 1,000 business and advertising executives to choose the sports celebrity they'd want most as a product endorser, Michelle was ranked 9th! She is the only female in the top ten listed, and the only figure skater. Responses to the poll were received from executives at companies such as AT&T Corp., Procter & Gamble Co. and Unisys Corp. The balloting was done in April. Michael Jordan was once again ranked number one, followed by Mark McGwire, Wayne Gretzky, Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer, John Elway, Sammy Sosa, Jeff Gordon, Michelle, and Magic Johnson. Pretty good company Michelle is in! For more info, read the full article, Jordan remains most appealing endorser, poll says. Just something a little interesting I heard yesterday. I was listening to the sports radio, and the host said he had a top 10 list of female athletes that ad executives wanted for endorsements. He asked the callers who they thought were on the list. Well, there were 2 different polls in the last few weeks (and articles about them both were posted on my Articles about Michelle page.) From the number of people that the host said chose the athletes, I figured out it was the poll that ranks Kristi Yamaguchi first. Four other athletes were correctly chosen, and then a caller guessed Michelle. It was about an hour after he brought up the poll. By the time the show ended (about 3 hours later), the other two skaters on the list, Kristi and Tara Lipinski, still hadn't been guessed. Check out the coupon suppliment that came with your Sunday paper. There is another Caress ad with Michelle! This is a different one than the first one. I scanned it in. Check it out! Michelle has signed an exclusive 4 year deal with the Walt Disney Network Television! Under the terms of the agreement Michelle will be exclusive to Walt Disney Network Television and ABC to appear in ice skating specials. Four primetime specials starring Michelle are planned over the next four years. Michelle said, "I've grown up with Disney. Now to be a part of the Disney family is a dream come true." Paul Villadolid, senior vice president, Specials and Non-Fiction Programming for Walt Disney Network Television, who was instrumental in bringing Michelle to the studio said, "This is the most comprehensive television deal ever signed with a figure skater. Michelle's grace and classic elegance lend themselves perfectly to television. We look forward to producing some wonderful specials with her over the next several years." Why don't you E-mail Disney, and thank them for signing Michelle to an exclusive contract. Many e-mailed Unilever when they signed Michelle, and received a message back. Let's let Disney know how much we appreciate them for signing Michelle! For more news on Michelle's Disney specials, be sure to check out my Seen and Heard About Michelle section for latest news, and individual sections on my Past News page for older news. I just received an e-mail from Unilever thanking me for e-mailing them. Here's their e-mail: "Hi Heather, Thanks so much for writing! I will definitely pass along your email to the Brand Manager and marketing staff how pleased you are to have Michelle Kwan endorsing the Caress products. They always love to hear when a consumer is pleased with our spokespeople. They do evaluate consumer comments on a regular basis. Thanks for your interest! Your friends at Lever" As you can see, that it isn't a standard form letter. They really seem interested in what we have to say. So, why don't you also e-mail Unilever, and thank them for signing Michelle to endorse their products!! Michelle Kwan is the first individual Olympic medalist to get a lucrative endorsement contract since the Nagano games! She has signed with Unilever to promote its Fresh Deodorant Caress soap. Although her agent and Unilever won't disclose the size of the contract, industry experts put the price at less than $100,000. A second endorsement deal (as reported here earlier) is expected with in 30 days. In an article in the USA Today Paper, Stephen Greyser, marketing professor at Harvard University, said, "Leaving the Olympics with her reputation intact was, perhaps, more important than winning first place." According to the deal, Michelle will be featured in newspaper inserts and direct mail samples of Fresh Deodorant Caress soap. The article also says that four Hollywood studios have proposed acting roles for Michelle. Read the whole article, Clean Image Lands Kwan Deal, and then check out these other articles about the deal. Michelle has 2 major endorsement deals in the works. One will be announced within 10 days, and the other will be announced within 30-60 days. Her agent, Shep Goldberg said, "We've received and are evaluating several offers from major studios for an acting career, to have her as a star performer in a TV show or feature film." He also said, "We didn't get one call from anyone saying, 'We're interested in Michelle if she wins the gold.' They all said, 'We want Michelle, the person.' " Read more about it in Madison Avenue loves Kwan's smile. First soup, now yogurt. Yoplait multi-packs in the central and western parts of the U.S. will feature three different poses of Michelle Kwan on the overwrap. These multi-packs are will be in grocery stores for the next 2 months. Check out photo of the labels. Michelle Kwan, Tara Lipinski, and Nicole Bobek will each be featured on separate cans of Campbell's soup. Read more about it in Kwan, Bobek and Lipinski to appear on Campbell Soup label Last updated November 3, 2003 Back to News / Past News on Michelle Photo © Jay Adeff |
