The Last Page
Barkan, Joanne
Two and a half years as book editor at the Muppets opened my eyes: we live in the age of the licensed image. Before my sensitization, I admit I'd never reflected on the "source" of, say, the...
...the Mounties would review all product designs (they planned a discreet entry into the market—mostly books and tee-shirts, no cartoons...
...Today not even the public sector escapes...
...the contract should have gone to a Canadian company...
...The shop sold not only the predictable water-lily umbrellas and charm bracelets but also the first Monet mouse pad for computers...
...and the Mounties would get 50 percent of all profits...
...Their name conjures up mountain vistas, the rush of icy streams, the smell of pines...
...Fifty percent strikes me as a crackerjack deal from Disney...
...Here's how it works: a Muppets account manager grants an exclusive license to Colgate (or Procter & Gamble or Butler) for Miss Piggy toothbrushes...
...Surely there's merch here...
...It boasted a Ross Perot Gift Shop...
...JOANNE BARKAN q 128 • DISSENT...
...Leftists should note in particular licensed merchandizing by not-for-profit organizations...
...An editor in their book division once warned me, "Be prepared for our contract...
...Let justice trickle down from Mounty totes to tots...
...The news created a Canadian stir...
...Colgate manufactures the toothbrushes, markets them, and turns over a chunk of the profits to the Muppets...
...Yet think about it—where does that stuff come from...
...Commodify and prosper...
...Merch knows no bounds...
...Disney would subcontract manufacturing rights to Canadian businesses (thus nationals would produce the B.V.D.s and tees...
...The Mounties finally mollified critics of their decision to go commercial with a promise: they would use some of the licensing profits to fund community policing, which has suffered serious cuts in the government's budget...
...The market will solve the fiscal crisis of the state...
...It came from down the hall, from the character licensing department...
...J. M. Keynes...
...The Mounties' public relations people justified their decision...
...In prison during the long murder trial, he worked up a list of 120 products for licensing (stuffed toys and swimwear at the top of the roster...
...Last year's Monet megashow at the Art Institute of Chicago opened along with a special museum boutique...
...Before my sensitization, I admit I'd never reflected on the "source" of, say, the Mickey Mouse watch or Star Trek pajamas...
...But many more citizens protested the contract going to a U.S.-owned business...
...Word has it that he plans to trademark his name...
...After all, he owes millions of dollars in legal fees...
...And consider 0. J. Simpson...
...At Mups, I found out...
...Better tee-shirts than taxes...
...So it goes all over the land, from Lion King mugs to Liz Taylor's latest scent...
...This kind of merchandizing is—sad to say—the most widespread response to Republican-style budgeting...
...Ah, now we see the broad implications of image licensing in the private sector...
...The Chicago museum aimed to make $3 million off Monet "merch" in order to compensate for cuts in federal funding...
...The Rolling Stones 1995 Voodoo Lounge tour generated over $250 million in ticket sales, but official Voodoo merchandise brought in over $315 million...
...And what would we hear from George Orwell...
...The Muppet art department either designs the appropriate Piggy toothbrush imagery or reviews Colgate's art...
...Remember the Mounties— the Royal Canadian Mounted Police with their broad-brimmed tan hats and high-collared red jackets...
...Disney with its vast experience would provide top-notch service...
...Remember last summer's United We StandAmerica convention...
...Some people worried that Disney would turn the venerable Mounties into cartoons...
...They've granted an exclusive contract to license their image to the Walt Disney Company...
...We'll ask you to sign over everything, including your first born...
...The Mounties count as Canadian cultural property...
...The Mounties think so...
...What would Karl Marx say...
Vol. 43 • January 1996 • No. 1
