Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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• '■>- ■ BY CATHERINE M. WALDROP THE HAMECOCK The Office of Parents Programs held its annual Parents’ Weekend on Friday through Saturday, a tra dition that revolves around a home football game and incorporates sev eral other events. When organizing the weekend, the Office of Parents Programs se lects a weekend during the fall when there is a surplus of football tickets. Packages for Parents Weekend were available for par ents to buy; by Aug. 27, packages were already selling out at $75 per person. Each package included admis sion to the Welcome Reception, the Carolina Beach Bash, a tailgate par ty, the football game against the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and registration for the 5k Fun Run and parents tour. Parents also received a guest pass for admission to the Strom Thurmond Wellness and Fitness Center facilities and a 15 percent coupon for purchases made with a CarolinaCard. Students had free access to all Parents Weekend events except for the tailgate party and football game. Some student organizations had their own parents weekends by holding events for the parents of their student members. Jerry Brewer, director of the Office of Student Life and Parent Programs, said, “While Parents Weekend is designated for all par ents, the individuals participating in Paren’s Weekend packages are primarily the parents of first-year or out-of-state students.” Parents Weekend was designed to unite par ents and students after making the transition to college life. Sabrina Taub, a first-year liberal arts student, said, “It's great for par ents to be interactive with their child’s college life.” Jordan Robinson, a first-year bi ology student, said, “It’s good for parents to see what their college students are experiencing at USC.” To close Parents Weekend, Capstone House's Top of Carolina restaurant held a Sunday brunch open to students and their parents. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockudesk@hotmail.com Isabel CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 error of 340 miles, needs to be fine tuned, said David Nolan, an assistant professor of mete orology at the University of Miami. In the case of Isabel, South Carolina may have benefited when early forecasts showed the storm would pass the coast. Estimates from Coastal Carolina show just a 1 percent drop in occupancy along the Grand Strand last week. “It is a concern for people making their plans. Why take that risk?” said Helen Hill, ex ecutive director of the Charleston Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. The Council of Myrtle Beach Organizations is lead ing a push to go back to the three-day forecasts. The group will meet Oct. 20 to discuss the issue. Model CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 over, legs and monologue. Three judges score the contes tants, who are split into cate gories by'hge. Brown request ed local photographer Russell Adair to prepare a portfolio of photos for the photography competition. Brown likened the photog raphy shoot to a scene in the movie “Zoolander,” when the photographer yells at Stiller’s character, “Dance, monkey, dance!” In one underwear shoot, Adair instructed Brown to flex his muscles while pos ing. “He was like, ‘Flex! Flex this!’ and I was like, ‘Gosh, dude,”’ Brown said. “At first I was nervous, but then I just went with it.” All of the flexing was worth it, however, because Brown left the convention with the Overall Male Model Award, de scribed as “the most coveted of all awards” by Carl Dunn in Pageantry magazine. “These awards recognize the individual male and female who, in the view of the judges, scouts and agencies in atten dance, show the most promise and score highest in the vari ous areas of competition,” Dunn said in the article. Brown said the award was just “something you can put on your resume.” As a result of the competi tion, Brown received many of fers from talent agencies in New York, but he wanted to finish his education. “I like it so much here in Columbia, so I decided to stay here and get my degree,” Brown said. On Aug. 14, Brown signed a two-year contract with Click, an Atlanta modeling agency. Since then, he has been fea tured in a formal-wear ad in newspapers nationwide and has modeled tuxedos in Pageantry. He also performed in Geoffrey’s Fashion Show in Atlanta. “You get 100 times more work when you sign with an agency,” Brown said. Looking ahead, Brown said he wants to travel and “open as many doors as possible." “I’d love to go to Europe — Paris, Milan,” he said, “even tually get to acting — maybe go to Hollywood.” Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockudesk@hotmail.com Impotency drug Levitra relies on ‘racy’ ads to capture half of new prescriptions BY THERESA AGOVINO THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ■ > . NEW YORK — A new market en trant, Levitra, has captured half the new prescriptions written for impotency since its launch earli er this month, thanks in part to a marketing blitz with a more “racy” take on sexual perfor mance. Analysts said Levitra’s early success doesn’t necessarily por tend a major threat to Viagra’s market dominance. It does, however, signal a shift in some of the marketing of both drugs as capable of improving peo ple’s lifestyle, and not just cor recting a sobering medical condi tion. “The ads have much more of a consumer approach,” said Winton Gibbons, an analyst for William Blair & Co. “The drugs are being treated like other consumer prod ucts in ads.” Pfizer Inc, which makes Viagra and GlaxoSmithKline and Bayer Corp., which are co-marketing Levitra, insist the ads are de signed to encourage men with erectile dysfunction to see a doc tor, and not to promote recre ational use. Experts say about 30 mil lion men over 40 have erectile dysfunction. But the ads can tell a differ ent story. The commercial for Levitra fea tures a sexy model trying to throw a football through a tire. Initially, he fails but then he succeeds, and is joined by a very attractive wom an. The voice over says, “Sometimes you need a little help staying in the game. When it gets in the zone, it’s good.” Gibbons labeled the ad “racy.” Hemant Shah, an independent an alyst in Warren, N. J., called it “ag gressive.” Bayer spokeswoman Lara Crissey said the text was designed to appeal to men, and tie into Levitra s sponsor ship of the National Football League. “We don’t feel we are making light of the condi tion. We are talk ing to men in a language they un derstand,” Crissey said. “The ad has nothing to do with recreational use.” Levitra hit the market the first week of September. According to the research firm, ImpactRx, half the prescriptions for men who had never taken an impotency drug be fore were written for Levitra. But analysts said much can happen between the doctor’s office and the drug store that prevents prescriptions from turning into sales. The man may decide not to fill the prescription or his health plan may pay only for Viagra. Also, he might try the drug and never use it again. Shah said it isn’t unusual for men to want to try a new product when it comes on the market. That’s what happened when Viagra arrived five years ago. Back then Viagra’s promotion featured former presidential can didate Bob Dole explaining erectile dysfunction as a serious medical condition. “Pfizer’s ads are more subtle than the Levitra ad, but Pfizer’s ads aren’t as subtle as they used to be,” said Shah. “The drugs are being treated like other consumer products in ads” WINTON GIBBONS ANALYST FOR WILLIAM BLAIR & CO. BRIEFLY i Pianist to play at Koger Center Maestro Donald Portnoy and the USC orchestra will present pianist Marina Lomazov Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Koger Center for the Arts. Lomazov will bring her unique combination of musi cal virtuosity and personal charm with her performance of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 23. This program also includes Francis Scott Key’s Star Spangled Banner and Jean Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2, Op. 43. Tickets prices are $18 for adults, $15 for USC Faculty and staff and senior citizens and $8 for students. To purchase tickets, visit the Carolina Coliseum Box Office, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or call charge line at (803>251-2222. Online ticket pur chases can be made at http://www.capitoltickets.com. mm M www.dailygamecock.com Read it.