Say hello to Ellen Grossman

Well, just in case you didn't already see this story making the rounds the past 24-36 hours ... the video of Jay-Z (plus entourage and security and fans) riding the R train to the Barclay's Center... and being asked by the kindly woman, Are you famous? (Gawker has more here.)

As The New York Times noted, the woman is Ellen Grossman, an East Village-based artist who lives on St. Mark's Place.

And given the world we live in, she is an instant celebrity of sorts. Per the Times:

To what does she attribute this new found celebrity? Given the economy, the wars and talk of the end of the world, “I think the world is in the mood for a sweet, old lady,” she said.

You can see the exchange between Jay-Z and Grossman at the 19:30 mark of the video ...



h/t The Wall Street Journal

Why you shouldn't be outraged at Kelly Donahue for refusing to give up her seat

EV Grieve reader Creature spotted this flyer on Avenue B at Fifth Street... then another one a few blocks away...

As you might expect, the sign is a fake... it's part of an ad campaign for a book out next month titled "I Hate You, Kelly Donahue."

OK, who put up the 50,000 "Fight smack in the orphanage" posters?

Jesus, they're everywhere! Like this one one Seventh Street... for the spoof "Black Dynamite."

Historic La Salle Academy attacked by viral marketing campaign

Ah, yes — the La Salle Academy, at Second Avenue and Second Street, recently celebrated its 160th anniversary.

But can it survive an attack by Sony's big blowupalooza coming this holiday season — "2012"?






A reader, who passed along the last photo in this set, is not impressed by the ad: "It's covering a big portion of the corner and it's really bad. They try to make it look like it was defaced, but it's not."

I looked so you don't have to

Stupid viral ads. These Lucy fliers have seemingly been everywhere on Second Avenue. I finally looked at the advertised url. Fat chance that it's going to be another cutesy, annoying subway romance tail. The fliers are for a new Web series on IFC.

The Ex files

Remember these stupid fliers plastered all over the neighborhood...which turned out to be a viral campaign for the new CBS series "The Ex List"....?

Anyway, the show just got canceled.

Dear marketing people: ENOUGH with the viral campaigns

Seen on First Avenue. TV Squad was game enough to call the attached number. For a CBS series called "The Ex List." Ugh.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A poorly timed marketing campaign(?)