Art Imitates My Life
Posted by CMH Gourmand on February 3, 2009
Mark Bittman and Michael Pollan would be very disappointed in me. My lifestyle since Thanksgiving should have rebranded this blog to – CMH Glutton (hold your comments Hungry Woolf). On the plus side, my food spending has held back the fine line between recession and depression. As I transition back to my early 2008 life of exercising 5-6 days per week, drinking a glass of wine instead of a bottle and extreme eating once a month vs. once a day, I find I am surrounded by some not so subliminal messages.
A billboard caught my eye, the Red Gold ad downtown. I contacted their public relations group for information and they sent behind the scenes photos to supplement mine. The billboard made it’s national debut in Columbus, next stop Milwaukee in March or later.
Courtesy of Red Gold
Courtesy of Red Gold
Courtesy of Red Gold
Courtesy of Red Gold
Here are some interesting factoids on the billboard.
5 tomatoes: 5 feet tall by 13 feet around, each weighs about 150 lbs.
140 feet of tomato vines
The leaves are 8 feet tall by 4 feet wide
The Red Gold cans are 16 1/2 feet tall by 12 1/2 feet wide
“If the two giant cans were filled with Red Gold petite diced tomatoes, that would make enough salsa to serve over 400,000 people.”
Red Gold is donating 10,000 pounds of tomatoes to the Mid-Ohio Food Bank in February.
Another series of ads has been around downtown for a while – Pabst Blue Ribbon. There are many new districts springing up to supplement the Brewery District and the Arena District. Among the new areas are the Red Brick District and the Discovery District. There is a rumor the area with the PBR ads will be named the Lauren District…not sure what the significance may be.
Here is some background on the fan created art from Pabst Blue Ribbon.
CMH Gourmand - Eating in Columbus & Ohio 
favorfan said
Great to have all those tomato billboard statistics. It would be interesting to see it dismantled and packed for a reappearance.
Have you heard about the bacon explosion blogs? I read about them in NYTimes online.
CMHG Comment: Got Bacon? In Columbus, Bacon is the new Black.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/dining/28bacon.html
http://www.royalbaconsociety.com/blog/funny-bacon/top-10-bacon-quotes-from-homer-simpson/
http://bacolicio.us
Lauren said
I approve of the Lauren district.
Thad said
Do I recognize the Pierce Brother’s dry wit in the first picture?
CMHG Comment: Yes. Do I recognize a photo from New Zealand?
Hungrywoolf said
Dear CMH Glutton — thought of you 😉
http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/
CMHG Comment: I think Essex girls are the best!