---

TheBuzz

BY ERIKA ENGLE

Starr Seigle, pearls
and the silver screen

---

After five years with California-based 2M&G, the Pearlridge Center advertising account is coming home to the islands, landing at Starr Seigle Communications Inc.

Center officials had not been actively searching for a new agency, according to Regional Director of Marketing Scott Creel, but conversations between he and Starr Seigle Executive Vice President for Advertising David Koch "got the pearl rolling," he said. "We think that a local ad agency would better understand" the center's resident customer base.

The annually renewable contract is worth "plenty," Creel said, without divulging a dollar amount.

The center's public relations account will stay with PRWorks, where spokeswoman Deborah Sharkey said, "We've always targeted a local base, we're not a visitor mall." It's a good time to bring the advertising piece home, she said.

"We're looking to Starr Seigle to coordinate media purchases and scheduling. They'll be in charge of all creative (work) and production," Creel said, adding that center promotions will be a joint effort.

Pearlridge Center is owned by Watercress Associates, the majority owner of which is Milwaukee-based Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. The latter owns San Francisco's Ghirardelli Square and other retail, commercial and industrial properties across the United States.

Starr Seigle, Star Wars

Starr Seigle late last year won the Healthy Hawaii Initiative's tobacco-settlement-funded $800,000 annual public education contract.

As part of the contract the company produced six 15-second spots, "Two on nutrition, two on smoking and two on exercise," Executive Producer and Vice President for Broadcast Tim Bradley said.

The TV spots have been running for awhile but they're to debut April 5 on the silver screen at Consolidated Theatres.

"We wanted to shoot for theaters and transfer to videotape for broadcast," Bradley said. "But the cost for 35 millimeter (film) was too great."

A bold step into digital technology led to the use of a so-called 24P "Hi-Def" camera by Sony -- the type also used by George Lucas of "Star Wars" fame.

The almost-finished product was taken not to a galaxy far, far away, but to Seattle, as there's no Hi-Def facility in Hawaii. "Alpha Cine took the master and digitized it via computer," Bradley said. "It's the same one that (Lucas') Industrial Light and Magic uses."

Bradley has written an article about the digital odyssey for Videographer Magazine.

---

Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin.
Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached
at: eengle@starbulletin.com