For nominees who leave the Oscars without a statuette, there’s the consolation libation of Chicago’s own Effen Vodka, nestled within a bag–or would that be a wheelbarrow?–of $46,000 worth of booty delivered to select, uh, non-winners the next day.
For Jon Deitelbaum, CEO of Effen’s Chicago-based jstar Brands, his product’s placement there is about as good as gold.
Compared with loot such as complimentary laser eye surgery or cruises with the unwashed masses, Deitelbaum believes his vodka stands a chance of being truly appreciated.
“We’re talking about multimillionaires, and they need . . . a grill?” he said.
Introduced last spring, the vodka is bottled in Holland, and Deitelbaum has but 17 employees.
“So we really do try to look at the return on investment,” he said. “If it’s going to end up with a limo driver, that’s probably not the best thing.”
The buzz so far is paying off. Hits on the company’s Web site quadrupled last week. “When you’re able to get in those bags, it’s a big deal,” said Deitelbaum, 36, who lives in Lincoln Park.
This nominee swag bag–the “Caesars Palace Presents Everyone Wins at the Oscars,” assembled by a company called Distinctive Assets–is distinct from the official Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences goody baskets. The contents of those are famously hush-hush. An academy spokeswoman said she can’t even confirm or deny what lies within them.
But we hear of Samsung HDTVs with satellite service (about $6,000), Krups espresso machines ($500) and, of course, more, more, more.
Some publicists say the overall largess is the most lavish in Oscar history.
At about $30 per 750 ml bottle for regular and black cherry, Effen might be a lower-ticket item. But it positions itself as a luxury brand that fits right in with entertainment.
In fact, Deitelbaum already is joking about his next Hollywood venture: sponsoring gift bag sherpas, or maybe a gift bag transportation company with logoed utility vehicles to deliver all that cargo.
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“It’s getting to be a little crazy.”