Relax. (NJOY)

We've seen Stephen Dorff shill for E-Blu, but not one of the other very famous celebrities who vape have been willing to put their reputations on the line to be the face of electronic cigarettes.

Until today. Courtney Love has partnered up with NJOY to create an amazing 50-second spot that should delight anyone who is sick of those uptight, non-e-cig snobs. Or just likes to hear Ms. Love curse in a way that only the Hole singer can.

"Relax, it's a fucking NJOY" is our new favorite catchphrase. We're thinking of changing our masthead to include the new slogan.

Occupy Wall Street: the commercial

Update: After speaking to the video's director, David Sauvage, we have updated the original article to clarify the "how" and "who" behind the  ad campaign.

Even better than The Real World or The Dark Knight Rises, Occupy Wall Streeters several independent Occupy Wall Street members decided to make their own press with a new ad campaign, to be launched sometime this week.


According to Business Insider, the goal of $5,000 to make and promote this commercial was reached quickly on the website Loudsauce.com. (Kickstarter has also housed projects by organizations associated with OWS, like The Occupy Wall Street Journal, though technically it would have to be a "creative" project in order to pass the Kickstarter standard of funding.)

It will be interesting to see who was behind this idea: for a group like OWS to create its own positive branding, it would need consensus by the General Assembly. And that's just in New York! For the commercial to be "passed" by the OWS standards nationwide, who knows how many hoops its creators would have to jump through.

Update: According to Mr. Sauvage, the video was well-received by Occupy Wall Street's Media and PR Team, but they decided not to use his initial cut -- which he put on YouTube -- on OccupyWallSt.Org, out of fear that it would strike people as "too commercial." Mr. Sauvage stressed that the spot was made without the money or funding of OWS, and the matter was never voted on by General Assembly. Ultimately, the video that will be aired will direct viewers to OccupyTogether.org, which is independent of all other Occupy groups and serves as more of a "clearing house" for information on the national  movement, rather than its own separate operation.

The "Who Are We" portion of the Loudsauce's page reads:

This video was shot in New York City at Occupy Wall Street and produced by director David Sauvage and composer Glenn Grossman. Also jumping in was Sauvage's longtime friend and colleague Ted Markovic, who provided them with the resources to make this happen.

A few of us saw it on YouTube and thought: this should be on TV. Thanks to LoudSauce, and folks like you, hopefully that will be possible!

Update: The "us" as referred to in the last paragraph refers to other individual members of OWS (as well as Loudsauce's own co-founder Colin Mutchler, who was approached about the project and asked Mr. Sauvage's team for permission to raise money for it on his site), and was not meant to be read as an endorsement by the movement as a whole.

The ad will likely play on ESPN, according to the Business Insider article. The Daily Kos has said that it may very well be the "first time a protest movement will air a positive branding ad."

mchaban@observer.com

The Real Deal predicts an "upcoming collapse facing commercial leasing." Peter Kiefer writes, "Just as signs of a rebound start to emerge, researchers say New York's commercial leasing market could be barreling toward a train wreck in 2013 and afterward." The issue makes explicit what's been in the backs of the minds of many in the industry: that thousands of office leases will be rolling over in the next few years, and they're probably not going to be renewed at 2006 prices.

The Real Deal blinks at the last minute, adding a "maybe" to the headline, which will no doubt go ignored. But one problem is the assumption that the commercial industry is faring well as it is. We've also all just learned that commercial prices dropped 3 percent in July for the second consecutive month. That brings prices dangerously close to where they were in October 2009, the last time the headlines had brokers and owners stocking canned goods.

As Erik Schmall, executive managing director of Studley, points out in the article, "I swear I have heard this for the last two years, and I am just not buying it."

lkusisto@observer.com

From the developers of JFK International Airport's acclaimed Terminal 4 comes “Cinderella Story," a soon-to-be fully revamped office building at 545 Madison Avenue.

Demolition is already under way at Madison and 55th Street, where an existing 17-story building is being stripped down to its frame and redone from scratch to create 140,000 square feet of high-end work space for what one exec called "an upscale, yet limited, tenant roster of 17 or fewer boutique firms."

The fairy godmother responsible for this act of real-estate witchcraft is national investment firm LCOR, Inc.

Law firms and financial services companies in search of new digs should be advised to vacate the premises each day before midnight, when--poof!--the high-end tower reverts to a demolition zone, its "five-star hotel-like" porcelain and enamel bathrooms become port-a-johns, and its "exclusive concierge services" are reduced to a shabby Mailboxes, Etc. location down the block.

Actual details are as follows:

“CINDERELLA STORY” OFFICE BUILDING DESIGN RELEASED

--Plaza District Office to Offer Full-Floor Presence for Select

Financial and Law Firms--

NEW YORK, April XX, 2007 – Designs for a “Cinderella Story” office building in the Plaza District were unveiled today by LCOR, Inc., a national real estate development and investment firm. The 17-story building at 545 Madison Avenue on the corner of 55^th Street will be stripped to its frame and transformed into a Class A “Trophy” boutique office building.

The comprehensive project will include a contemporary modern floor-to-ceiling glass curtain wall and the installation of state-of-the-art electrical, HVAC and mechanical systems, with an expected LEED Gold rating. The new building will offer prime space to a limited number of tenants desiring full-floor occupancy in the Plaza District. This “Cinderella Story” transformation, taking place in one of Manhattan’s most coveted business venues, will offer a contemporary, high-end office building.

“This rare opportunity to recreate a Plaza District office building from scratch will allow us to provide space to an upscale, yet limited, tenant roster of 17 or fewer boutique firms,” explained David A. Sigman, senior vice president of LCOR. “545 Madison will offer the kind of top-tier quality space that only a handful of buildings in the city possess. The building is destined to become the new jewel of Madison Avenue.”

With design amenities such as floor to ceiling windows, individually controlled heating and air conditioning systems, full-floor identity, and premium concierge services, elite boutique financial services companies and law firms will feel at home in this modern office building. 545 Madison Avenue will offer views of one of Manhattan’s most esteemed streets and its stunning skyline, while allowing natural sunlight in throughout the day.

With a combination of Pietra Cardosa smooth stone, California Maple Burl wood veneer panels, and Moncervetto marble adorning the lobby, as well as five-star hotel-like restrooms with porcelain enamel and marble, this address projects an image of its tenants and their clients worthy of their high stature. Additional aesthetic touches in the lobby include a major art installation, seating areas, and spectacular lighting.

545 Madison Avenue features 50 feet of frontage on Madison Avenue and 125 feet along East 55^th Street. The full range of amenities offered to each tenant also includes individualized access to back up power as well as HVAC controls, 24-hour security, and floor plans ranging from 4,900 to 9,300 square feet. The ground floor and cellar will house 7,080 square feet of retail space.

LCOR signed a 75-year lease for the building in November 2006, and demolition began in March 2007. The building will contain 140,000 square feet in rentable commercial space. Tenancy is expected in Spring 2008.

The partnership developing the project includes LCOR, Lehman Brothers and BlackRock Realty.

LCOR is tapping the New York City architecture firm of Moed de Armas & Shannon to design the new space. Peter Riguardi, Frank Doyle, Lisa Kiell and David Kleiner of Jones Lang LaSalle will serve as leasing agents for the building’s office space and Susan Kurland of CB Richard Ellis will lead the leasing effort for the retail space.

LCOR is a national real estate development, investment and asset management firm that specializes in multifamily, commercial and mixed-use development, public/private development and transit-oriented development. With projects throughout the United States, LCOR has more than $8 billion in developments completed, under construction or in pre-development. LCOR has developed more than 16 million square feet of commercial space nationally. The firm developed the $1.4-billion Terminal 4 at JFK International Airport.