Help me understand swag. How do companies benefit from giving away thousands of dollars worth of merchandise to people who can afford to buy it?
—Rhonda, Dyersburg, Tennessee
The B!tch Replies: Celebrities are walking commercials. At least, that's the going theory. Put some shiny new object in their clacking pincers and then wait for the stars to gush about it or get photographed with it or, if the gifter is really lucky, promote it on a red carpet.
"Seemingly everyone these days is curious about every detail of celebrities' lives—not only what they wear, but what products they use, what cars they drive, what cocktails they drink," says fashion and lifestyle publicist Samantha Slaven, who often sends samples of her client's wares to celebrities.
And with paparazzi following the stars everywhere, we do know what celebrities wear, use, drive and drink. Otherwise you all wouldn't be sending me so many questions about Britney's apparent obsession with Starbucks.
"We glimpse our favorite stars living their everyday lives—talking on their iPhones or BlackBerrys, pumping gas into their SUVs—and suddenly we have an insatiable desire to own the same products they're spotted using," Slaven explains.
In other words, to a publicist or marketer, gifting just works.
One of Slaven's clients is a company called Kewi, which offers cute and fashionable leather covers for car keys. Recently Slaven sent some Kewis to Lauren Conrad, Kristin Cavallari and a few other hotly photographed babes, knowing that even a single photo could spur a slew of sales. (Indeed. My favorite Kewi color is red patent leather. I think it's so...Whoops! They just sold out. Sorry. Such is the power of my celebrity.)
"We'll probably sell out of the color du jour that they're carrying in a couple of days," Slaven predicts. "Having a celebrity use your products—even the most ho-hum, everyday items—still creates a huge demand and spike in sales."
Seriously.
"I've had Britney Spears photographed wearing a pink purse from my client Chinese Laundry bags," she says. "And the website sold out of that style in hours."
Hey, that's great. Good for you, sweetheart. But if I had been photographed with that bag, it would have sold out in a matter of minutes.
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