New Pinup Calendar Features Female Ohio State Students

Calendar keeps OSU men in mind

OSU women will have the opportunity to join the "Men of the Scarlet and Gray" in the new calendar, the "Women of the Scarlet and Gray."

Production of both the men's and women's 1990 calendars are scheduled to begin next month, said Sean Ashbrook, a junior from Akron majoring in marketing and producer of the new women's calendar for College ImageCorp.

More than 200 men and women have applied for the 28 positions, 14 men and 14 women, in next year's calendars, with about half of the semifinalists already chosen, Ashbrook said.

The first calendar was the subject of much controversy between university officials and Ashbrook from last spring until October.

The original name, "Men of OSU," was changed to, "Men of the Scarlet and Gray," at the request of the university.

Leslie Winters, director of contracts administration, said, "We asked Ashbrook to change the name because we did not want the name of the university used in conjunction with a publication that is not representative of the student body."

In September, the university again threatened to bring legal action against the publishers for use of its trademarks in two photographs without permission.

One of the pictures depicted a students sitting on a diving board with an "Ohio State" towel draped over the railing. The other showed a man standing in front of an aerial view of Ohio Stadium, both official trademarks of the university.

No legal action was taken against Ashbrook because the university did not want to be involved in a "publicity stunt," Winters said.

Ashbrook said he does not foresee any similar problems for the upcoming productions since he and Michelle Moore, a sophomore from Columbus majoring in advertising and executive producer of "Men of the Scarlet and Gray," will make certain not to use any OSU trademarks.

Although Derby Bookstore removed the calendars from its shelves because they were not a license publication, both Student Book Exchange and Long's Bookstore continued to sell them.

In addition, both Philip Potter, assistant trade buyer for SBX, and Ken Palmer, trade buyer for Long's, said they will probably carry the calendars again next year.

Ashbrook said he understands the university's position and he has no intention of asking OSU Bookstores to carry the calendars, nor would he expect them to do so.

"The only disappointing thing I had about the whole situation, was that other people weren't able to get them (the calendars) on other (OSU) campuses," he said.

Conni Simpson, a sophomore from Wintersville, majoring in communications, is one of the female applicants for 1990.

Simpson said se has done some voluntary modeling in her hometown, and decided to apply to "Images" in response to a letter she received from the company.

"I find it to be a respectable, upbeat publication," Simpson said.

One of the male applicants, Tom Pampush, a junior from Rocky River majoring in economics, said it was originally his girlfriend's idea that he apply.

Pampush, who has never modeled before, said, "I was alittle leary at first, but I think it'‘ll be a lot of fun."

Nick Kellis, a senior from Lima, majoring in public relations and one of the 1989 models, agreed with Pampush.

Kellis, who has done some professional modeling, and Pampush think the 1989 calendar looks very professional.

About five people work on the "Images" calendars, produced by College ImageCorp., out of Ashbrook and Moore's homes.

Ashbrook said funding for the production has been provided to him by parents, friends and bank loans.

Last year's production cost between $12,500 and $13,000 for 5,000 copies, but Ashbrok said he expects to be able to cut some of the technical costs this year, by reduction of costs such as the number of negatives needed for color separations by changing the paper size.

Ashbrook said he does not look for "super-godlike" students to model in the calendars.

The models must be physically fit and aesthetically pleasing, but a good personality is also an important quality the producers look for in the selection process, he said.

Ashbrook said this year will be the last year that he and Moor will be producing the calendar because they will be concentrating on graduation next year.

"We are trying to go all out since this will be our last year producing the calendar," Ashbrook said. "We're checking our budget and we'd like to go on a field trip possibly to Florida to get the photos taken."

Ashbrook said a new, "artistic" approach will be added to the pictures through the use of light, posing, and different angles.

The decision to provide a calendar for men next year is an attempt to expand the market, Ashbrook said.

Women were the original target market because women buy more calendars than men, he said. Now College ImageCorp. Sees a need to provide an equal publication for its male consumers.

Moore is the producer of the male calendar while Ashbrook is the producer of the female calendar, being of the opposite sex, each will have a better eye for what their target market wants to see, Ashbrook said.

Another change in the sales strategy for next year, Ashbrook said, is the calendars being sold through a statewide marketing campaign. He said a nationwide chain is probably going to sell them in all of its Ohio stores.