Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.trends From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: trends Thu, Jul 16 1992 Date: Thu, 16 Jul 92 05:07:59 EDT Message-ID: 07-16 0000 DECISIONLINE: Trends & Marketing USA TODAY Update July 16, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network CHESS GROWING ACROSS THE BOARD: Chess is making moves on the USA's youth. Educators and chess fans across the country are trying to make chess a part of school life, and using the sport as a way to hone thinking skills and keep kids off the streets. Saturday, in New York's Central Park, the U.S. Chess Federation holds what it's calling the world's largest chess expo. (For more, see special Chess package below.) GOURMET ICE CREAM FLOURISHES: Haagen-Dazs this month is introducing five "extraas" - Carrot Cake Passion, Caramel Cone Explosion, Triple Brownie Overload, Peanut Butter Burst and Cappuccino Commotion. Officials say the market has shifted toward more exotic combinations, and not to be left behind, the five "extraas" were introduced to compete against Ben & Jerry's ever-growing list of exotic flavors. SEALTEST GETS IN ON THE ACTION: Ice cream king Ben & Jerry's is still rolling in dough from its Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, introduced last year and already the company's hottest-selling flavor. Ben & Jerry's this month is introducing Wavy Gravy. And for the tame yet patriotic crowd, the more traditional ice cream company, Sealtest, has introduced American Glory, this month. ADS REFLECT POLITICAL SCENE: Advertisers are getting in on the political scene. Volvo has been running ads that play on politicos' concern about "family values" by pushing its autos as family cars that are bargains. Shoemaker Kenneth Cole took a swipe at Vice President Dan Quayle and his shaky spelling skills in a newspaper ad that read, "Don't forget to vot." SINGERS GET SHOWS: More television shows are featuring entertainers. The success of the "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" on NBC's has spawned a new nightclub-set comedy "Out All Night." Singer Patti LaBelle is "Out All Night's" headliner, and will occasionally sing. Musical guests booked for the show include TLC, Hammer, Bobby Brown, Gladys Knight, Boyz to Men and Jodeci. ELVIS SPOTTED IN CARRIBEAN: The USA isn't the only place putting Elvis on a stamp. The tiny island of St. Vincent in the British West Indies has released a set of nine postage stamps depicting Elvis in various stages of his acting and singing career. The stamps are about four times the size of the proposed 1993 U.S. stamp and sell for one dollar each. Call 1-800-873-2003 to buy them. DELEGATE MAKEUP MORE DIVERSE: Blacks make up twelve% of the U.S. population and 22% of Democrats. In 1972, blacks comprised 15% of delegates. That jumped to 18% in 1984 and 23% in 1988. This year, the Roper Center reports blacks make up 18% of Democratic delegates. RJR ENTERS RUSSIA: Cigarette maker R.J. Reynolds is following the wave of companies doing business in the former Soviet Union. RJR has purchased 52%% of Russia's biggest cigarette maker A.S. Petro. Reynolds plans to modernize A.S. Petro's plant and eventually make 22-billion cigarettes there, including some Reynolds brands. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON CHESS: CHESS BRANCHES OUT IN NEW YORK: Chess is making inroads. Professional New York chess coach Sunil Weeramantry says a tournament he oversaw last year had a record 1,100 kids in the National Elementary School Championships. New York state Assemblyman Richard Brodsky has asked the state to develop a model chess curriculum. A similar effort is under way in New Jersey, he says. PRIVATE YOUTH CLUB IN CALIF.: In Garden Grove, Calif., Robert M. Snyder runs the nation's largest private youth chess club, with 125 members ages 7-15 who meet weekly to play; when he founded the club in '83, it had 10 members. And in Boston, more than 2,000kids have learned chess in The Games Project:Chess Makes Kids Smart program, which teaches at more than 100 sites, including rec centers and summer camps. TEXAS HAS JUNIOR CHAMPS: In Austin, Texas, the Texas Junior Championship for grades 12 and under, has grown from 17 to 226 kids this year, says director William Tompkins, president of the Austin Chess Enterprises Club. Tompkins adds as evidence of chess' growing popularity, "The Uni versity of Texas has a chess club and a local non-drinking, non-smoking lounge has a chess club." (End of package.) Trends & Marketing Editor: Michele Coleman. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM