UNDERGEAR ANNOUNCES NATIONAL MALE MODEL SEARCH
OIA Newswire

UNDERGEAR ANNOUNCES NATIONAL MALE MODEL SEARCH

Undergear and Instinct Magazine Partner to Find the Next "Face" of the Undergear Brand;

Model Star Search Spans Five Cities Across the Country

NEW YORK, NY (AUGUST 5, 2008) – "Are you man enough?" Undergear, one of the nation's leading catalog and online providers of men's underwear, workout wear, swimwear and fashion, and Instinct Magazine, the leading independent gay national print publication, have teamed up to search for the next hottest model to represent the Undergear brand in the "Undergear Model Star" search. Kicking off this summer, the 2008 model search competition will determine who will be the next "face" of Undergear in 2009.

"The Undergear Model Star program is an exciting one for our brand and our customers," said Robert Grey, director of merchandising for Undergear. "'We have a long history of recruiting the hottest models for our catalogs and we're excited to partner with Instinct to find a fresh face to represent our brand."

The Undergear and Instinct teams will visit San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami this summer, hosting open call events for Model Star wannabes to strut their stuff in front of a panel of judges and local audience. One winner will be selected in each market and win the opportunity to attend the New York City finale event on October 10. Contestants can also enter to win online by visiting the Undergear Web site (www.undergear.com) and completing the simple entry form including current photo or video. An online winner will join the four regional finalists in Manhattan at the finale.

"Are you man enough?"

In addition to bragging rights, the winner of the "Undergear Model Star" competition will appear on the cover of the Spring 2009 Undergear catalog. The winner will also appear on the cover of Instinct Magazine's annual swimwear issue, which hits newsstands in the first quarter of 2009, and will be shot for the inside fashion spread as well.

"Undergear Model Star" open call events will be held throughout the summer in San Francisco (July 27); Los Angeles (August 21); Chicago (September 12); and Miami (September 20 or 27).

To enter online, log onto www.undergear.com, click on the "Undergear Model Star Contest" banner and upload a photo or quick video of yourself looking your "model best." The five finalists will be judged on the following criteria: visual appeal, perceived magnetism, suitability for promotion/advertising purposes and representation of the brand image of both Undergear and Instinct Magazine. The deadline to enter the contest online is September 30, 2008.

Rules & Regulations

Sweepstakes only open to men, who are legal residents of the 48 contiguous United States (and Washington D.C.), at least 21 years of age or older at time of entry, legally able to work in the US and are not professional models or signed with a modeling agency. For further rules, log on to www.instinctmagazine.com.

About Undergear

Undergear® is a division of Hanover Direct and one of the leading catalog and online retailers for men's fashion underwear, active wear and workout wear for fitness-focused men around the world. By making men's body basics fun and fashionable again, Undergear® is perfect for today's body and fashion conscious male. Undergear® is available by direct mail catalog, via telephone at 1-800-853-8555 or online at ww.undergear.com. Undergear® is also a business unit of Hanover Direct Inc., a leading direct marketing group with a focus on catalog and internet retailing.

About Instinct

Instinct was established in 1997 and has grown to become the leading independent gay national print publication. Audited by BPA Worldwide, Instinct readers are young gay trendsetters who are affluent, highly educated, brand-loyal consumers with high disposable incomes. [8/7/08]

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – July 22, 2008 – The AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center reports Tropical Storm Dolly is nearing hurricane strength as it moves through the western Gulf of Mexico toward landfall early on Wednesday near the Texas - Mexico border. The gathering storm has raised concerns in the oil and agriculture industries.



The AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center reports Tropical Storm Dolly is expected to reach hurricane strength today as it moves over the warm water of the Gulf of Mexico. There is a strong possibility it could reach Category 2 strength, with winds of 100 mph, before making landfall early on Wednesday near the mouth of the Rio Grande River.

Exxon Mobil spokeswoman Margaret Ross tells AccuWeather.com nonessential personnel have been evacuated from company facilities expected to be in the path of the storm. She adds there has been minimal impact on production.

Royal Dutch Shell on Sunday and Monday evacuated about 185 people from its operations in the western part of the Gulf. Meanwhile, the U.S. Minerals Management Service has activated its Continuity of Operations Plan team to monitor activities in the Gulf until operations return to normal and the storm is no longer a threat.

Landfall Concerns

The strength of the storm by landfall will depend on its forward speed. On Monday, Dolly entered the Gulf at around 18 mph. Today, it has slowed to near 12 mph as it moves west-northwest across the Gulf.

“We are concerned that Dolly has the potential to cause damaging winds and life-threatening, widespread flooding across South Texas and northern Mexico. Rainfall amounts of 5 to 10 inches are likely across the region with locally heavier amounts possible,” said AccuWeather.com Expert Senior Meteorologists Alex Sosnowski and Ken Clark.

The Mexican government has issued a hurricane warning from the U.S. border to Rio San Fernando and a tropical storm warning and hurricane watch from Rio San Fernando to the U.S. border, while a tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch are in effect south of Rio San Fernando to La Pesca. Anyone along the Gulf Coast, especially in the areas under hurricane warnings, should take immediate steps to protect life and property.



Hurricane-force winds will pound the coast of South Texas, while tropical storm-force winds will extend into the mid to upper Rio Grande Valley. In addition, a coastal storm surge of 4 to 7 feet above normal tide levels can be expected, with the strongest surf striking the coast to the north of the eye.

UPDATE: Tornadoes and Flooding in the Plains

State College, Pa. -- June 10, 2008 -- AccuWeather.com reported earlier today that severe storms erupting tonight over the Plains would not only bring new concerns for flooding, but would also spawn tornadoes.



Major cities in path of potentially destructive storms tonight include: Omaha, Topeka, Des Moines, Minneapolis and Wichita. On Thursday, the system and the same concerns will shift into the Midwest and middle Mississippi Valley. Areas likely to be targeted by the storms Thursday include: Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Kansas City and Tulsa. 

"We expect this activity to continue at least until midnight over the Plains," AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist John Feerick said. "So far, there are 28 reported tornadoes from Minnesota to North Central Kansas. There are some feisty storms out there, so we can expect that number to double or even triple by the end of the night."

Feerick said there have been two confirmed tornado reports in Douglas County west of Omaha. Local Iowa press has reported that a tornado hit a scout camp in western Iowa, injuring 40 with possible fatalities.

Daytime heating added to the instability over the Plains. Tonight, severe storms containing heavy rain, large hail, damaging winds, and tornadoes will erupt from western Oklahoma to Minnesota.