LOS ANGELES — Merchandising the appeal of five neurotic women is the next potential frontier for ABC’s “Desperate Housewives.”
The wickedly successful dark comedy-drama, which averages 23 million viewers a week, is brand-worthy, said executives at Walt Disney Co., the entertainment giant that owns ABC.
“We have done a complete study of ‘Desperate Housewives’ and can roll out product on a multilevel campaign appealing to 18- to 42-year-old women,” said Dennis Green, Disney’s senior vice president of consumer products.
Green said should his division get the go-ahead to launch a product line, the breadth could be staggering, especially if the stars agree to have their likenesses on products. The initial focus would be on apparel, accessories and personal care, possibly hitting stores by fall. The marketing would follow a so-called total gravity merchandising approach.
“We’d start at the top of the pyramid and fall down to the rest of the world,” Green said. Already, fans have gotten a teaser of potential merch. San Fernando, Calif.-based Jem Sportswear has produced T-shirts that have been selling briskly for the past two months at Kitson. The ABC Web site also hawks items from the program, including oven mitts and a sports bottle.
Those items can continue fanning the flames of the program, the second-highest rated prime-time show behind CBS’ “CSI.” An example of how strong the market can be for merch tied to a show can be seen by the fact that the last episode of “Sex and the City’’ aired in February 2004 and HBO’s Web site is still selling program-related T-shirts and cappuccino mugs.
“While something is hot, you want to reap all of its rewards,” said Shari Anne Brill, vice president and director of programming at Carat USA, an international media services company. “When you create a brand, you extend the life of the show, reinforcing interest in the show beyond Sundays at 9 p.m.”
Disney has seen how its magic works on the consumer. Two years ago, it began working with Jackie Brander, owner of Fred Segal Fun in Santa Monica, Calif., for a higher-end line of clothing sold at her store and like-minded boutiques. The company has also partnered with Jem Sportswear for its Walt Disney Collection, feeding off retro mania with its worn and distressed T-shirts featuring a range of Disney characters. And it has partnered with juniors resource Mighty Fine for a Bambi Couture line and Hysteric Glamour for T-shirts with the Tinkerbell character.
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Those types of programs can boost revenues in Disney’s consumer products division, which reported a 14 percent decline to $725 million in its first quarter ended Jan. 1. The falloff reflected decreases at the Disney Stores North America, which was sold to the Children’s Place in November. But the division saw increases of $23 million in merchandise licensing.
“The show is a phenomena that can serve them well,” Brill said