Thursday, September 04, 2008
THEATRE: THE HOLY GRAIL OF MERCHANDISING?
globeandmail.com: "According to a recent article in Playbill, the Broadway production sells 1,400 to 2,000 T-shirts a week featuring such show catchphrases as 'Fetchez la Vache' and the venerable 'I'm not dead yet.' The show's clothing line extends to Holy Grail boxer shorts and the tough-to-keep-in-stock Killer Rabbit slippers."
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4 comments:
Good for Spamalot, for attracting the type of audience demographics that will spend their money on the useless crap. Useless crap is such an integral part of money making for the entertainment industry. Pretty much any show from arenas to small theatres will have at least one booth to sell catchy t shirts and the CD. I believe that Spamalot has found a treasure, since their show lends itself to the useless crap market, since the novelty of the show itself allows for many more "toys" to be included in their sales table arsenal of crap, which just means more revenue for them.
Spamalot was destined to make a fortune in merchandising, considering how many Monty Python fanatics there are out there. Not to mention the number of short catch phrases from the show that are perfect to put and sell on "useless crap." People love that kind of stuff, and Spamalot creators know it.
To the extent that this might allow them to make actual tickets more affordable it seems good. It seems like one of few shows that can get away with being so commercial about merchandise.
I doubt this will make the actual tickets any more affordable...it just seems like Spamalot is out to milk as much money as possible out of a long array of dying jokes. Its pop culture appeal also means that a shirt that says "I'm not dead yet" is more likely to sell than one that says "it sucks to be me."
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