MAINSTREAM MOVE ADULT FILM COMPANY ADVERTISES WITH SNOWBOARDS AND ATHLETIC SHOES.Byline: Evan Pondel Staff Writer VAN NUYS - Across the street from a tract of single-family homes sits a nondescript non·de·script adj. Lacking distinctive qualities; having no individual character or form: "This expression gave temporary meaning to a set of features otherwise nondescript" building occupied by the nation's leading producer of pornographic films. Vivid Entertainment Group - a legendary company in a multibillion-dollar industry that goes virtually incognito in·cog·ni·to adv. & adj. With one's identity disguised or concealed. n. pl. in·cog·ni·tos 1. One whose identity is disguised or concealed. 2. in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . Until now. Vivid has seemingly emerged from its San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. lair as a marketing provocateur pro·vo·ca·teur n. An agent provocateur. Noun 1. provocateur - a secret agent who incites suspected persons to commit illegal acts agent provocateur , blurring the lines between pornography and popular culture. The Van Nuys company will introduce a snowboard this fall featuring the Vivid Girls. But the racy rac·y adj. rac·i·er, rac·i·est 1. Having a distinctive and characteristic quality or taste. 2. Strong and sharp in flavor or odor; piquant or pungent. 3. Risqué; ribald. 4. decks are merely an entree into a world that has become increasingly more mainstream with the ease of access to adult films. A bed of well-manicured roses surrounds Vivid's offices. The parking lot is filled with high-end Mercedes Benzes. Business is good. So good that some industry experts say the company can stave off a recession because people still watch adult films when times are bad. ``When people are feeling good they want to see sex, and when people are feeling bad they want to see sex,'' said Mark Kernes, senior editor of Adult Video News. Indeed, consumers are still interested in renting and purchasing adult films despite a foundering economy. In 2002, adult videos brought in $4.04 billion in store rentals and sales, compared with $3.95 billion in 2001. Internet sales probably added another billion to the 2002 figure, Kernes said. The marketing of adult films has earned Vivid the praise and envy of the industry. The company began a wave of big business deals in 2001 when it sold three cable and satellite cable TV networks back to Playboy for about $70 million. More recently, Vivid has entered deals with several companies outside the X-rated industry, including Sims Snowboards and Pony, a chic athletic shoemaker. The company has also introduced a brand of condoms, an herbal supplement that supposedly enhances sexual performance in men and a set of action figures due out this August. ``The relationship between the adult entertainment industry and the mainstream realm probably works right now because of all of the stress in the world,'' said Michael Kamins, associate professor of marketing at USC's Marshall School of Business The Marshall School of Business (also known as USC Marshall School of Business) is the business school at the University of Southern California. It is the largest of USC's 17 professional schools. The current Dean is James G. Ellis. . Behind the negotiations is Steven Hirsch, Vivid's 41-year-old cofounder co·found tr.v. co·found·ed, co·found·ing, co·founds To establish or found in concert with another or others. co·found . Hirsch's hair is gelled just enough to avoid excessive bounce as he struts A framework for writing Web-based applications in Java that supports the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture. Struts is deployed as JSP pages using special tags from the Struts tag library, which includes routines for building forms, HTML rendering, storing and retrieving data and his muscular frame around a dimly lighted office. He sits at a desk, restlessly wrapping a phone cord around his thumb while keeping his eyes focused on those before him. A collection of fossilized fos·sil·ize v. fos·sil·ized, fos·sil·iz·ing, fos·sil·iz·es v.tr. 1. To convert into a fossil. 2. To make outmoded or inflexible with time; antiquate. v.intr. amber is prominently displayed on several glass shelves near the entrance to his office. Behind Hirsch's head, a couple of dozen Adult Video News awards are neatly aligned. A snowboard with an image of Briana Banks is leaned up against a wall. Hirsch said he doesn't snowboard but should probably start, given his new line. The boards will retail for about $400, specially packaged in a black bag. Travis Wood, director of marketing for Sims Snowboards, said the target audience is 13- to 21-year-olds. Hirsch would argue the demographic is older as some of the women displayed on the board are topless, an option potential customers will have to mull over mull over Verb to study or ponder: he mulled over the arrangements [probably from muddle] Verb 1. . Some retailers have already vowed not to sell the boards. Sport Chalet Sport Chalet is a retailer of sporting equipment, apparel, shoes, and accessories in the United States. It operates approximately 40 company owned stores in Southern California, Arizona, Nevada, with new stores opening soon in Utah, with the first at Jordan Landing. has carried Sims products for several years but decided the Vivid boards were inappropriate. ``We have a family store here. And we've decided not to carry such a product because we don't think our core customer would be interested,'' said Howard Kaminsky, Sport Chalet's chief financial officer. Val Surf, a staple in snowboards, surfboards and beachwear, also deemed the boards ill-suited for its clientele. However, Val Surf had stopped selling Sims Snowboards long before the Vivid Girls showed up. ``We dropped Sims last year because we thought their products were becoming too mainstream. We strive for quality here. And the fact that Sims has to put porn stars on its boards shows just how desperate they are for sales,'' said Damon Richards, buyer and general manager for Val Surf in North Hollywood. The fact Sims has been dubbed dub 1 tr.v. dubbed, dub·bing, dubs 1. To tap lightly on the shoulder by way of conferring knighthood. 2. To honor with a new title or description. 3. ``too mainstream'' is even more appealing to Ohio-bred Hirsch. Rather than have the snowboards produce a new source of revenue, Hirsch said, he would prefer that the boards generate more interest in Vivid. Local ski resorts have not decided whether they will ban the boards. At Mammoth Mountain Mammoth Mountain is a large lava dome complex[1] that lies to the west of the town of Mammoth Lakes, California in the Inyo National Forest. Mammoth Mountain is home to the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area which is notable in that it gets an unusually large amount of , boarders have often pushed the limits with explicit art on their snowboards. ``And that's something we really can't control, though we do have a lot of families here and do our best to protect our image,'' said Joani Lynch, a spokeswoman for the ski resort. Mountain High, Snow Summit and Bear Mountain representatives have all said it's the prerogative of the boarder to ride whatever deck they choose. ``Personally, I'm not for or against the snowboards, but I suppose we will have to wait and see what happens. I do know a lot of riders would love this kind of product,'' said Genevieve Gunnarson, director of marketing for Summit and Bear. And that is Hirsch's hunch hunch n. 1. An intuitive feeling or a premonition: had a hunch that he would lose. 2. A hump. 3. A lump or chunk: "She . . . - no matter what kind of publicity the boards receive, people will want to see the product on the slopes. ``We're elevating our brand here. If people see a beautiful girl on a snowboard, they'll probably want to see the same girl in one of our movies,'' he said. The Pony billboards are having a similar effect. Featuring Vivid stars like Jenna Jameson, who was recently named leading female adult star of all time by Adult Video News, Hirsch said the ads invoke curiosity, if anything. A recent party sponsored by Vivid at the Highland Club in Hollywood emphasized just how popular the brand has become. Men and women of all ages waited in line just to catch a glimpse Verb 1. catch a glimpse - see something for a brief time catch sight, get a look see - perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight; "You have to be a good observer to see all the details"; "Can you see the bird in that tree?"; "He is blind--he of their favorite adult film stars. Once inside, serpentine serpentine (sûr`pəntēn, –tīn), hydrous silicate of magnesium. It occurs in crystalline form only as a pseudomorph having the form of some other mineral and is generally found in the form of chrysotile (silky fibers) and lines formed in front of the Vivid Girls, who were suffering from hand cramps after signing hundreds of their portraits. CAPTION(S): 3 photos, box Photo: (1 -- 2 -- color) Steve Hirsch, president of pornographic film producer Vivid Entertainment Group in Van Nuys, shows the new Sims snowboard featuring a photo image of porn star Briana Banks. Below, a snowboard featuring another actress. Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer (3) Vivid Entertainment Group hopes the new Sims snowboard to be introduced this fall, featuring Vivid's porn stars, will lead purchasers to the now more mainstream porn industry. Box: Vivid REVEALED SOURCE: Vivid Entertainment Group; Daily News research Daily News |
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