John & Kathy Muller
Just what I needed, a weeklong battle with a cold/flu…
Consider that my calling in sick after the fact. But I’m back and I’m bad, so where is that tub-O-lard Lazlo dude? I’ll tear him to pieces. He’d best pray our paths don’t cross!
Sound familiar?
Kidding of course, but for a guy who cost Entercom a million buckos, Lazlo sure did shoot his mouth off on Twitter after KCC revealed the behind the scenes on how he and his wife Afentra blew seven figures in after-tax dollars.
So yeah, I’m feeling feisty after spending the day reviewing four day old news, so let’s play a little catch up.
Axed KU coach Charlie Weiss & Zenger
For starters, how about that KU football win?
The Star’s Sports Daily pretty much told it like it is, no big deal. So what that the second worst team in the Big 12 beat the worst team. In fact, as KU centric as the local newspaper is, it didn’t get around to heralding the Jayhawk’s meaningless win over Iowa State until PAGE 9!
The Lawrence Journal World on the other hand spent darn near the entire front page of its sports section acting as if the Jayhawks had qualified for the Final Four.
And while Star columnist Blair Kirkhoff meted out a highly reasoned assessment of the importance of KU athletics director Sheahon Zenger‘s next football coach hire – a decision likely to determine Zenger’s future given that in three years at the school he’s already fired, hired and fired a football coach – the Journal World could barely contain itself from shilling for interim coach Clint Bowen.
“MAKING A SPLASH,” blared a headline atop the page above a pic of Bowen getting a Gatorade bath (as though something truly meaningful had transpired).
“Kansas, Bowen bathe in victory,” reads a game day story headline and “Coach inspires Jayhawks’ win,” echoes spirit squad/sports editor Tom Keegan.
Then in a two page truck, the “Cyclones bemoan ‘bad loss,'” reads another head and “Bowen lauds Mangino” adds another.
Look, I know this is pretty much no big deal, but for a newspaper that likes to boast of winning awards over flyweight competitors, it’d be nice if they manned up more and recognized that in the Age of the Internet kissing up to the homies is for sissies.
Am I wrong?
*******
RESPECTED, ICONIC LOCAL AD MOGAL SHOCKER
Here’s an example of KC’s newspaper of record getting caught with its fly down- way down…
Because in Sunday’s Star a paid obituary announced the shocking and “unexpected” death 0f legendary ad man John D. Muller.
No news story, just a placed-several-days-ago paid ad. You know, money talks while editors nap.
In any case, turns out the 64 year-old former owner of Muller + Company passed away “at his residence in Marina del Ray California” Wednesday, the day after the midterm elections.
The dashing, affable, smooth talking Muller was a KC boy who married his Bishop Hogan high school sweetheart Kathy Muller and graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute.
HAROLD TIVOL
He made his mark on the Cowtown in the early-mid 1980s by transforming a mousy, local high end jeweler named Harold Tivol into a household word. Tivoli credited Muller with making him famous in a Star Magazine interview with Cindy Hoedel four years ago.
“John Muller of Muller + Co. here in Kansas City,” Tivol told Hoedel. “He made enough money off me that he sold the company (laughs)…John just walked in here one day cold-calling me and asked what my biggest problem was. I said, like every fine jeweler, it’s threshold resistance. Everybody’s afraid to come in here because they think everything in here costs a hundred million dollars. Which it doesn’t. We have prices down to the one hundred dollar range.So John said, ‘Let me work on it.’ A month later, I’d forgotten all about him, and he came in and said he had some ideas for ads to run in The Star, like this one here (points to a framed ad). It says, ‘If you’re afraid to come in the store alone, bring a friend.’ And it’s me holding this cute little dog. He made a whole bunch of ads like that, and they won a national award. A year later, he came back and said he wanted to put me on television. I said, ‘Forget it. I’m not a used-car salesman, and I’m not going to stick my puss on TV.’ ”
Harold Tivol
Perhaps you remember it:
“My bald head coming up from the bottom of the screen to the music of Star Wars, Tivol added. “It was a huge success. Huge. You can’t believe it. I can go into a restaurant, and a waitress will recognize me and tell me she loves the commercial I did with the hairpieces, and she’ll say she thinks she saw it last week. It’s been four years. That’s called good advertising. And the oddest people recognize me — not customers, but the guy cleaning the street, people from every walk of life come up and say, ‘You’re Mr. Tivol, aren’t you?'”
Mr. Tivol, the entire KC ad community and beyond will celebrate Muller’s life in a 7 p.m. memorial Wednesday in the Art Institute’s Vanderslice Hall.
Sad to hear about John, what a shock. My condolences to his family and friends. I had the chance to work with him and his agency for a brief time in the late 90s.
My ex worked for him for several years as well…
I remember being at some ad gang bang by the old airport downtown in the mid 1980s and the talk of the town was this dashing, flashy hipster ad dude that was doing all these cool projects.
Harold Tivol was an older Jewish businessman that the country club set and well to do respected, knew and did business with, but outside of that just a face in the crowd.
Muller single handedly turned him into Kansas City’s answer to the Monopoly Game Man and made the Tivol family millions.
The Tivoli were a little nervous when Tiffany’s announced it was coming to the Plaza but…
I don’t think it was much more than a blip on Harold’s radar and the company’s been going killer strong ever since.
With one misstep up north that they bit the bullet on a couple years ago.
The $64 million question: What’s Plan B gonna be when Harold checks out one of these days?
Will they need or will there be another John Muller?
Hard to envision
Hearne…wrong….Harold was not just a face in the crowd..
tivols has done big numbers before john did their ads…and
have done huge numbers after john stopped.
Tivols is a landmark on the plaza for decades ….where you
get your info is so wrong…please..please…instead of
you moderating my correct and accurate comments let
me moderate the crap you’vebeen putting out lately.
How about that 8 million dollar jet ku just bought for
bill self? Self rules ku right now…they’ll buy him anything
he wants or he’s gone….get ithearne.
Im sure they pay for appollo too.!!!!!!
I’m assuming you’re talking about Wild Bill’s rug…
Well, in a sense Ku pays for everything Self gets, but I seriously doubt they expensed his topper.
Harold was very well known by upscale Kansas Citians BUT…
He was a shadow of the man Muller made him into.
Hoi polloi like undoubtedly passed his place of business – it was there for years.
And bights and people of means frequented Tivoli, for sure.
But, as Harold is quoted, it was off putting for regular folks who went to Alvin’s and lesser jewelers who were by appearance more affordable.
Again, as Harold is quoted, Muller changed all that and once that snowball started rolling it continued.
Obviously, but John Muller was the man who set the stage and shaped Tivol’s future.
The funny thing is, H Man, you know just enough to be dangerous.
May I suggest readers go back a week to the first radio ratings column and check out how the Radio Dude schooled Harley on WHB’s “situation.”
Jesus effing G-d; HAROLD HIMSELF credited John! Is that not good enough you asshat? Harold is lying about Harold’s success and who Harold attributes it to? Don’t moderate him, just hit DELETE!
went back…and posted a reply!
the radio dude is old and out of touch …..
he should never contradict Harley because
radio dudes been fired from more jobs than
anyone can imagine.
WHB can buy anything they want. Radio dude
is just jealous because he can’t.
WHB is a major revenue producer in this
town…huge…..and this socalled radio expert
doesn’t understand because he’s out.
WHB didn’t see the connection with the
royals being profitable……nor the chiefs…
so instead they saved all that money andstill
do the same things they broadcast last year
for free!!!!!
And no one notices it!
So when radio dude wants to match wits with
Harley on any subject…except hot combs…
hae him contact me at law4life1000@yahoo.com
…I can give him some helpful hints at that
time.
so be it…not my comment…your so called
insiders who proved you wrong again.
How many times can a guy be wrong.
You and K prove you can be wrong all the
time and still be shooting off your mouth.
Hope you print this hearne.
John was an incredible talent.
And hearne…please go to ku for 21 days to make sure you didn’t get any of
that “eyebola” that chuckles the sad clown said was a conspiracy!!!hahahaha!
You are a bad man Hearne Christopher. Good story.
Guys imagine how much more FUN the KANSAS CITY STAR would be with Hearne writing these kinds of stories all the time. Hey you could throw me and the rest of us in the paper and it would make it at least something to talk about huh. Well only if I could spell.
(editor’s note: and type!)
Dear Harley:
I think it’s quite evident that the radioed has forgotten more than you ever knew.
Plus the word on the street is that he’s still quite active in the biz and at a level you obviously have no clue about
he’s actually Tard from 98.9, right? 😉