Michelle Van Der Water got a lot
of attention for the below Palm Pre commercial.
She's a hottie extraordinaire. I saw the comment
below on a message board and found
it...interesting. Curious to hear other's
thoughts on it.
i like girls like this physically, but i never
like their attitudes. she goes to lounges and sips
on martinis and on weekends attends art
exhibitions. she will only date guys same
complexion as her or lighter.she is too
career-oriented and usually hangs around white
people, as the token 'black girl'. all token black
girls have that hair style. every single one. it is
the hairstyle that ad companies use for black women
in their advertisements. you'll never see a black
woman in an ad without this hairstyle. it is
because she is the girl who hangs with whites, so
whites feel more comfortable watching the ad and it
still has ethnic diversity. (on another note, the
girl will always be the 'light skinned' black girl,
never dark 'ghetto/african skin')
UPDATE: This
blog post has been updated. Alysha sat down today to
talk in detail about how she landed this job, for all
those aspiring models who want to know...
--How did the
Walmart ad campaign come about for you (e.g.,
starting from how you got with the agency that
booked you for the job, providing one of your
agents booked you)...
I got the Walmart ad
through my agency, theDaniel Hoff
Agency.
Getting an agent is necessary and I got mine
through submitting headshots and resumes to all
agents that looked like we could benefit each
other. You can get a list of all the agencies and
what talent they are currently looking for
atSamuel French
Bookstore.
After I sent out my packages I heard back from
less then 1/4 of the agents. I went in to do a
test read of a script, got a call back offering me
representaion.
--Was this job a buy-out, do you get
residuals, etc.?
The job was a buyout I
got about $2,000 for internet and print usage during
Summer 2010. If Walmart decides they want to use the
images longer than the summer then they have to pay
me again. Also, there's an exclusivity clause - while
this ad is out I can't do a similar ad campaign for
stores like Target or K-mart.
--How long ago did you actually shoot for
this ad, to give people some idea of how long
projects like this can take to come into
fruition...
I shot this campaign in
the beginning of April 2010. They had me "on hold"
for a week, meaning I was told to keep my
availibility open just in case they wanted me (ahhhhh
the suspense, lol)
--When you shot for it, did you have any idea
of how you would be featured in the ads, if at
all?
After I shot for the ad
I had no idea where it would actually be used. They
don't tell you. All I knew was it could be used for
print and online, whatever that means. No one tells
you the actual relese date. I didn't even know it was
out until you told me . Sometimes Ineverget to see the
final result, it's only in the Midwest.
Sometimes they don't even use you... at all
.
--What advice would give to aspiring models
out there who wanna dip their foot into urban
modeling but not foreclose opportunities to do an ad
like this?
My advice is to know
exactly where you want to end up in the industry and
be selective with your work. If you want to be super
sexy and that's the work you book, it'll probally
open more doors to be super sexy, but there's the
risk you will be pigeonholed to that. You have to
remember your overall objective and stick with a plan
that will keep you versatile. Don't get "caught up."
KEEP FOCUS.
The Big Butt Book ($59.99,
Taschen Books) is the fourth in a series of "art
books" from Taschen celebrating the human form
in all its glory, profiling some of the
highest-profile examples and overloading on
archival images from throughout the history of
erotic art and nudie mags. Here, Taschen's Sexy
Books Editor Dian Hanson follows up on The Big
Book of Breasts and The Big Book of Legs.
**Bria Myles makes an
appearance in the book.**
This is actually a good look because this book will
be around forever in stores and even some libraries,
while the magazines Bria has done will have long
faded out. This series of art books by Taschen is
very well respected.
As Bria's lawyer, my only question is: can you sell
an art book like this using other people's photos
without their permission? (Rhetorical question, lol)
Finally, what appears to be
a worthy entrant into the game of urban
modeling: Miss Tammy, or as she's known on Model
Mayhem, Tamara Lightning.
Update
3: Tamara appears
to have up and disappeared from the net altogether,
which is not uncommon for aspiring urban models. Her
Model Mayhem page and Twitter are gone.
So this picture by photographer Scott Hebert caught my eye
because it is showcasing that rarest of
rarities: a playful show of affection between a
black man and woman that is not crass or
debasing. Eva Pigford just looks
fantastic here, and the way Lance Gross's hands
are framing her tiny waist shows off just what
an amazing figure she has. Personally, I think
this is a hot photo.
Despite the crispy artificial lighting used in an
outdoor setting, Laura looks rather captivating here.
These are magazine quality photos used for the
galleries on her pay website. Not bad.
I promise this blog won't become a Maxim wannabe.
Actresses like Scarlett Johansson get enough press
everywhere else. But I have to say, I'm smitten with
her. I mean, have you seen Iron Man 2!? Talk about
stealing a scene (poor Gwyneth).
But the thing is, I've always liked
Scarlett, going back to Ghost World in 1999, so this
isn't some fad-ish, trendy reverence. This is good
old fashioned, died-in-the-wool obsession, lol. And
she has such a cool vibe about her and no lame
plastic surgeries. I would hate to find out she has a
bad attitude and treats people crummy.
UFC Hottie Arianny Celeste is featured
on the cover of last month's Maxim and is
photographed by Jeff Olson. This soft,
natural look continues to elude the urban genre.
Even my
pics for J'Adore are not quite as soft and
easy on the eyes as this. Hmmm... I guess it's back to the old
drawing board.