• by Kelly Samardak , November 14, 2008

I jump at the opportunity to sit in on any awards "show" covering something or some phrase I've never heard of. Come on, my history is bleeding-edge tech comms, so custom publishing actually is new to my career phrase. I want to learn, don't you. I'm also a big fan of the Rainbow Room, which will always hold a warm spot in my heart due to the Detroit takeover. Put Rainbow Room together with the Custom Publishing Council's Pearl Awards and I do believe that even on the froggiest of nights you've got a recipe for entertainment. It doesn't hurt to add a dash of a gregariously drunk Jonah Bloom.

 

It rained ALL DAY yesterday, didn't it? Sloppy and annoying, it was the kind that tickles your tights and wets your neck by sneaking under your stupid umbrella. I walked in that nonsense sputtering until the marquee for The Rainbow Room came into view. I love that place. Its existence is steeped in history and its famous face reemphasized by the ridiculously funny 30 Rock ("Crazy Puddy! Crazy Puddy!"). Granted -- as with any NYC club -- using it as an event space dulls the sheen like Charlie just a little bit.

My lateness was perfectly timed with the Lane Press-sponsored cocktail reception. Almost at critical mass, the guests were already a good 30 minutes into cocktails, making them more agreeable and sometimes even more voluntary for photos. I snapped Jonah Bloom, Editor, Advertising Age, in conversation with another fellow as soon as I walked in the door. He was much friendlier than the first time I met him, which was at the EYE party during that week about advertising that nearly put me in a dirt nap. I think his little dark amber liquid friend in a tumbler helped.

I met the Time Inc. crew of Lauren Donaldson, Associate Editor, Fran Ri, Designer, and Julia Chang, Associate Editor, who ended up winning the gold in the design category for Best Opening Spread in a publication with a circulation of more than 250,000 for All Animals, Time Inc. Content Solutions (The Humane Society of the U.S.). Ben Levine, Partner at Point Five Design, Eric Gervase, Director of Sales at nxtbookmedia, and another guy from Min (who was pinch-hitting for Naomi Reiter) announced "we're not in publishing!" even though they sort of are. Well, at least Faux Naomi is. You put info out online, right? There you go -- published.

Let's talk about my table, lucky table 13. To my right was John Gower, Director, Future Plus International - original roots in England, now holding it down in San Francisco. You'll have to ask John about his Minneapolis experience. It's a lovely wintery gazpacho complete with a near plane disaster, a less than stellar Twins game, but a great pitch to Best Buy. To his right was supposed to be Randall Lane, but wouldn't you know it, Jonah Bloom plopped himself down with his tumbler full of the dangerous dark amber liquid, and puffed "who is Randall Lane?" He then commandeered my camera after prodding me with photos of lions, elephants, and a ginormous Rotweiller (I'm still not convinced those photos weren't iPhone preloaded photos) and scurried around the room harassing guests and giving me a break.

To my left was Samir Husni, Journalism Department Chair at the University of Mississippi. He was with his daughter, whose camera I mistook as mine and almost stole -- and who admitted she might actually take in Vanilla Ice's Turtle Bay appearance later that night. Play that funky music, Ice. Samir was sharing the stage with Bloom to present the Pearl Awards. The "Gold" awards look like chubby little "Sorry!" game pieces. If I had an MP3 recorder (which I'll purchase NEXT pay period) I could have drilled Husni all night. He has stories you and I can't make up. And he was the controlled yin to the pickled Bloom's yang up on the stage.

The "pipe down!"-declaring Bloom kept it lively in that room that felt like a time warp with its print-heavy audience. Either I'm just too immersed in digital in my real life and somewhat in my working life -- or print truly is leaning close to stegosaurus status. I mean, they have an award for Best Newsletter -- and I'm not talking inbox or online. 

It looks like the CPC is trying to move along with the times, which is comforting, but it was sad to see that in a the digital awards for best blog and best interactive tool, there was only one item, not three like every other category. Was there only one entry in each category? There were some beautiful publications in the traditional categories that could easily translate digitally, it just takes a publisher willing to take the risk and do it up.

I'd like to close this with the delicious Chilean Sea Bass and a conversation. John Gower and Jonah Bloom were discussing the economy because who isn't? "The British are more honest about what's going on over there financially," said one. "The numbers here are all bulls*&t," agreed the other. Eeeenteresting.

Invite kelly@mediapost.com to your peppy party and get in Just An Online Minute!

I caught you a delicious bass on Flickr!

See how a social diarist celebrates Festivus on Twitter.