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merchandise-related stories

Holiday gift ideas keep coming from 'a galaxy far, far away'

The Remote Control R2-D2 should help your kids scare the cat this holiday.Black Friday is less than a week away, and if you're stumped for gift ideas for a boy anywhere in the family, you could do worse than going with Star Wars: The Clone Wars merchandise.

The show remains one of the highest rated programs for males aged 12-25. That's no surprise since boys have always been the cash cow of George Lucas' $3 billion empire (no pun intended).

Hasbro is the emperor of Star Wars toys (at least those for kids), and the company has a couple of new, higher end items for the 2009 holidays.

The Clone Wars Remote Control R2-D2 is pretty much as advertised. For about $30, you get a replica of a Death Star comm-link that controls the droid's movements, sounds and lights. A kid will have fun driving him around the house. But, the toy is more fun for adults if you imagine that every beep he makes is really a rude, digitized curse word.

Continue reading Holiday gift ideas keep coming from 'a galaxy far, far away'

Star Trek merchandise goes all sexy and smelly

PETA has already been called about this Star Trek-based crime.As the fall release date for the J.J. Abrams Star Trek DVD closes in, Star Trek merchandising is making a comeback.

Everything Trek made a huge bull rush earlier this summer when the first major run of merchandising took hold. Everything from bottle openers to iPod got the final frontier treatment. Now the DVD is shaking the space trees again.

The long-rumored Star Trek colognes beamed their way into stores last week -- immediately becoming a product that folks might want to try as curiosity without ever admitting they bought it.

Continue reading Star Trek merchandise goes all sexy and smelly

Tru Blood is now a true drink

Tru BloodCome on. You knew it was going to happen. Tru Blood (the fictional vampire blood-substitute from the HBO series True Blood) is going to be offered as a novelty drink.

You have to wonder what the drink will actually taste like. Blood? Hi-C? Red Bull? It's described in the article as "a crisp, slightly tart and lightly sweet tang," and I am left wondering what the hell does that exactly mean.

Will people mix it with alcoholic beverages? Will there be Tru Blood with vodka (a real Bloody Mary)? Tru Blood martinis? Tru Blood chasers with beer?

You know that some kids are trying to be vampires. Admittedly, when it comes to vampires in media, I am far more True Blood than Twilight, so I'm likely going to pick up a bottle and try the stuff out when it's available. The bottle is even a cool-looking collectible.

The big question is: how is Buffy going to react when she hears the news of this beverage?

The Simpsons is huge money for 7-Eleven

the simpsons movie7-Eleven stores are cleaning up on merchandising for The Simpsons Movie, which hits theaters on Friday. Since the beginning of this month, the convenience store chain has been selling millions of Simpsons items such as KrustyO's, Buzz Cola, Squishees, Radioactive Man comics, and Sprinklicious doughnuts. And 12 of its outlets have actually been transformed into Kwik-E-Marts, just like on the show.

The Simpsons merch, by the numbers:
  • 960,000 cans of Buzz Cola
  • 1.1 million Squishees
  • 880,400 Sprinklicious doughnuts
  • More than 3.4 million units of Simpsons swag
I joined the mass consumerism stampede and bought KrustyO's, Buzz Cola, a comic, and a Squishee (man, those things are pure sugar - blech!). I think it might've been the first time I ever went into a 7-Eleven. What did you buy?

Crank up the creativity, Stella fans

stellaDo you love Stella, the odd little comedy trio featuring David Wain, Michael Showalter and Michael Ian Black? If so, you'll be interested to learn that the guys are looking for someone to design a logo for new Stella merchandise. It's time to get out your crayons and glitter and see what you can come up with. Just don't use anything from their Comedy Central series or any related promotional images, that's not allowed. You can submit as many times as you wish, as long as you get your entry in by February 16. The guys will vote on their favorite and announce the winner on February 23. More details can be found on Wain's MySpace blog and the Stella Merchandise MySpace page.

Teri Hatcher rolling in money

teri hatcherTeri Hatcher reportedly got tough with Buena Vista Television, the company that produces Desperate Housewives. She demanded a cut from all the merchandise that is sold with the Desperate Housewives moniker and she got her way. According to various sources, the deal puts her among the highest paid actresses on television (a DH publicist contacted us to deny she's the "highest paid" actress on television, as we originally reported). She currently rakes in $315,000 per episode of DH and will make an extra $1 million for one week of work to pimp DH merchandise such as a new video game, a board game, and new ringtones.

Who do you think deserves to be the highest paid actress on television?

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