What do you do when you’re a washed up celebrity? You scratch and claw your way back into the spot light. That’s the latest strategy for once-kid-stars, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen.
Somewhere, someone advised these former stars that launching your own jewelry line is what your career needs at this time. The pair has linked up with jewelry designer Robert Lee Morris.
They claim it will contain 80 different pieces of jewelry that will have an urban flair that include metal cuffs, daggers and crosses. Isn’t this the path that all Hollywood child stars tend to follow, jail, suicide or Jesus?
I’m all for comebacks and you can find all kind of success stories of people that have failed and made bad decisions. Then they get their groove back, and all of sudden they buckle down, find some determination and taste success again.
However, this isn’t about comebacks it’s about trying to profit on a name that no longer has any brand value. Do they really think that their fans from Full House are so loyal that they’re going to buy the Mary Kate and Ashley bracelet and dagger necklace? I doubt it!
Here’s the lesson:
If you have any plans on a comeback, don’t throw out some once tried idea. Get creative, refocus, rebrand, and rethink before you retry. If the Olsen’s were smart, maybe they would try to split up the wonder twin approach and market their individuality.
What are your thoughts?
Uhhh, you’re kind of missing some crucial info. The twins have been selling a clothes line and other designer accessories for more than a decade now. I’ve never seen the stuff myself but it’s stunningly successful - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary-Kate_and_Ashley_Olsen has a few details but they are worth a stunning amount of money - $100m+. This is simply an extension of that move.
The Olsons have been tabloid fodder consistently since turning 18, and in the current market, a celebrity regularly featured in People is just as valuable as one in a regular TV sitcom when considering branding.
The girls’ greasy-yet-effective manager created countless branding opportunities, which helped the Olsons earn well into the hundreds of millions of dollars. While they may not be selling quite as many “Mary Kate and Ashley Go To . . .” videos, their prevalence in the public consciousness means they can still sell some goods. A branded line of jewelry actually seems to be a wise progression for them - it’s more mature than Olson lunch boxes, yet its not another celebrity-branded perfume (JLo, Britney, etc).
And while I disagree that their money-making train was ever derailed, consider applying your theory to the career of William Shatner: Who would’ve thought a dot-com start-up could employ an all but forgotten former celebrity as their pitchman, and by playing a caricature of himself in the commercials, that has-been would become a significant actor once again?