U. grad puts commercials on your wall

Michael Jordan, M.C. Escher and Soloflex Man, beware. University students sick of decorating their walls with the same old college posters can now turn to Posters Preferred, a new catalog company that takes popular television advertisements and turns them into posters. The company, founded by University graduate Brian Gordon and Dennis Roche, has already produced posters of the Shaquille O'Neil Pepsi commercial and the polar bear Coke commercial. Both founders said they hope to add a new dimension to the wall art industry by providing college students with an original way to liven up their rooms. Gordon, who graduated in 1991, said he first thought of the idea as an undergraduate after stealing a banner from the Palestra to decorate his room. The College graduate and Political Science major said he was always searching for something original to put up on his walls and thought that ads would make great posters. Immediately following college, Gordon said he went to work for Proctor & Gamble's marketing department where he met Roche, who was also interested in the idea. Among the companies featured in the premiere issue of the catalog called Beyond the Wall, are Coke, Sony, Levi's, and Volkswagen. College junior Liz Gordon said she helped her brother organize focus groups to test the idea last summer. The younger Gordon said she put a copy of the catalog on her coffee table for friends to see. "A person who was flipping through [the catalogue] said, 'This is great,'" she said. The College junior said she will be distributing copies of the catalog on campus starting Tuesday. Student reaction to Gordon's product seemed to be positive. "It sounds like a good idea," said College freshman John Park. Of course, any idea has its detractors. "I know plenty of people who would buy posters like that, but I'm not one of them," added College junior Dan Rosner. Gordon said he spends most of his time fostering relationships with various companies. He said he shares the director responsibilities equally with his partner. The posters in Beyond The Wall cost $10 for the first, $8.50 for the second, and $7 for each additional poster. There is also a 24 hour toll-free number that students can call to order. This month, 500,000 copies of the catalog will be sent to 80 campuses across the country and in August, Posters Preferred plans to distribute their catalogues to over 300 campuses nationwide.