In a world awash with celebrity merchandise, you have to hand it to 50 Cent. It seemed that every star endorsement had been tried - dolls, scent, clothes, books, even coffins - but Fiddy's come up with the 50 Cent dildo. His dream is to produce a sex toy modelled on himself: big but not so big that his female fans' boyfriends will object. It's still a, ahem, pipe dream, but, if it goes into production it's likely to get a better response than Get Rich Or Die Tryin', the singer's film (out this week).
A dildo from the 'Candy Shop' singer makes sense. A film by Oscar-nominated director Jim Sheridan just doesn't. Consumers aren't stupid. They're happy to buy celebrity products, but no one wants to be sold a pup. If a product fits with a star's persona, fans buy it, whether it's Jordan's range of ultra-pink jewellery at Argos, Jennifer Lopez's best-selling Glow perfume, Girls Aloud's dolls or Tom Ford's Estee Lauder make-up range. But when Coldplay's 'Talk' ringtone was promoted on CSI: NY, both the band and the show's fans felt cheated. Where's the link between melodic anthems and murder, for heaven's sake? David Beckham's M&S boys' clothing designs was a similar mismatch. Kids like Becks for his skill, not his style. The range was dropped.
Merchandise makes huge profits for celebrities. Is it too much to ask that they give it just a little thought?
Source: http://observer.guardian.co.uk
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