Adds Lemer, “We tell sponsors to bring 500 of each product, or, if it’s something really expensive, they can do 150 VIP bags. Still, lines must be drawn – especially since events of this kind often bring out the greed in even the best of people. The Simple Life‘s Nicole Richie, for example, was rumored to have received a Kyocera phone Slider MTV Edition phone (retail value: $500) both at the Golden Globe event — and the previous week at Sundance. Leasa Ireland, who manned the Kyocera Golden Globes booth, was the one who had to make snap decisions on who would and wouldn’t receive phones.
“We have to make sure that a request will add value to the company,” she says, diplomatically. Some of the people that made the cut included the mothers of Justin Timberlake and Paris Hilton, who’d been dispatched by their busier offspring to do swag collection.
Other products are anyone’s for the taking. “Some companies that aren’t L.A.-based get a little star struck and are so honored to be allowed in the room that they just give away everything,” says an event sponsor. The advantage the backstage events have, of course, is guaranteed A-list attendance. “Getting free stuff is interesting to celebrities, but they’re not going to schlep somewhere far away for it,” observes Lash Fary, whose company, Distinctive Assets, is known for providing elegant backstage lounges with high-end products. Distinctive Assets’ other arena is the lavish gift basket for nominees and presenters – a perk that has risen exponentially in value in the past few years: when Distinctive Assets started providing the official gift basket for the Grammys four years ago, the value of the goods totaled $5,000; this year, it’s worth $30,000. A Sports Club/LA membership, Apple iPod, MiniDisc player and gift certificate for Lasik eye surgery are just a fraction of the goodies housed in the $600 piece of Tumi luggage participants will receive.
The fact that sponsors pay between $7500 and $20,000 to participate in a Distinctive Assets lounge (gift basket fees range between $2500 and $7000) begs the question: with all the freebies that are par for the course in the average celebrity existence, how much can the first-class Caesars Palace trip valued at $32,000 (which Distinctive Assets is featuring in their Oscar nominee basket) actually mean? “A lot of the talent will ask what’s in the gift basket before they agree to do a show,” Fary explains, referring to the smaller award shows his company does baskets for, like the Kids Choice or BET Awards.
“It’s a lot of work for them to hire a stylist, get ready and possibly perform, and they now see the gift basket as part of that payment.” Whatever disturbing social trends this ridiculous allotment of swag suggests – and the potential philosophical analysis one could make of a society that gives to those who need the least – isn’t something that the top freebie providers worry about much. And if there’s a limit to this excess in sight, they’re not going to be the ones to enforce it.
“I’d like us to be the first company to do the $100,000 gift basket,” Lash Fary enthuses. “I think we’ll soon get to the point where we put everything in a car, which we’ll also give away.”
