Star Power Sells - Scent of a Dead Star, Designer Tequila and the Rolling Stones; and, a high-performance watch designed by a cupcake.

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Andy Kaufman Perfume.  Rolling Stones Tequila. 

Johnny Cupcake G Watch. Name Recognition for Out-of-Character Products.

This week it is all about how fame sells even when: the star is long dead;  the rock and roll riots ended decades ago and, the newest watch in the store has been designed by a T-Shirt company! … Stephen Weir's Blog looks at the weekly whack of strange press releases that crossed my desk over the past seven days.

Dead Comedian Andy Kaufman has his own stink! -  On the 11th of October LA perfume maker Xyrena announced  that it has introduced a new scent.  Andy Kaufman Milk and Cookies is now being marketed in the United States to, according to the a Xyrena press release, to "honour of Kaufman's life and works."

Andy Kaufman has been dead for 41-years. In his lifetime there was never a perfume bearing his name or likeness .... but his estate has!  ""It's great to have Andy brought back, in any way, even if only in a bottle, " explained Andy's brother, Michael Kaufman.

Why is it called Milk and Cookies?  The perfume maker says it was inspired to make the new fragrance because of  "Kaufman's historic performance at Carnegie Hall in April 1979, after which he took the audience of 2,800 people out for milk and cookies."

Last words from the press bumf - " Milk and Cookies opens with top notes of sugar and sweet butter then develops into a heart of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies and a delicate note of creamy milk, followed by bottom notes of vanilla extract and white musk."

At least no one was murdered when the Rolling Stones toured Canada and the United States in 1972 as had happened 3 years before at Altamont, California. But even without a body count, the 1972 was an historically violent cross-continent tour that saw a riot in Vancouver ( 60 arrested, 15 injured), a police tear gassing in Arizona, drug busts in Texas ( 81 arrested at Houston concerts),  mass arrests in Washington DC, a fire bombing of the Rolling Stones' equipment truck and a riot in Montreal and a final concert in New York City that ended with 'Mick and the Boys' bringing in pies which they proceeded to throw at the audience during their last number!

Last week, the Tequila maker Jose Cuervo, took Los Angeles fans for a ride through rock n' roll history on the 'Tequila Sunrise Bus Tour'. This was a rolling party to see The Rolling Stones' most iconic gigs during that infamous tour of 1972.  This time around no fans were hurt, or arrested, probably because there were no actual Rolling Stones involved in this tour beyond them lending of their name and the band's distinctive "Tongue and Lip Design" logo to this marketing exercise.

According to a press release issued by Jose Cuervo, "forty lucky local groupies got a taste of the legendary music venues and after-party haunts that The Rolling Stones rocked, like the The Roxy Theatre, the Chateau Marmont, The Viper Room, and many more."

Jose Cuervo says that it played a " pivotal roll in The Rolling Stones' notorious 1972 North American Tour. After the band tasted their first ever Cuervo Tequila Sunrise cocktail at The Trident bar in San Francisco it was named their official tour cocktail and accompanied them to 32 cities and 48 shows. "

Why the decision to celebrate the concert tour some 43-years later?  Commerce, of course. Jose Cuervo is releasing two limited edition tequila bottlings of Cuervo Especial and Reserva de la Familia.

They are urging fans of the Stones to "get your limited edition bottle of Jose Cuervo: The Rolling Stones Tour Pick and taste the glitz, glam and controversy that made the 72' tour the benchmark of an era and cemented The Stones as the world's greatest band. "

First thing you should know about Johnny Cupcakes is the US based company doesn't make cupcakes. It designs and sells T-shirts.  When you buy a T-shirt you get your purchase in a box that makes it looks like you just did your clothes shopping in a bakery!

Second thing you should know about Johnny Cupcakes is that the company doesn't make watches either.  But that hasn't stopped the release of a new Johnny Cupcake G-Force watch. And, when you buy the watch you do get your purchase in a box that makes it look that you bought your timepiece in a bakery!

Casio Watches and Johnny Cupcakes have teamed up to come up with a high performance watch with a Johnny Cupcake look.  Coming to malls across North America this November is the new Johnny Cupcake G-Shock watch. "Arriving in one of G-Shock's most popular and recognizable styles - the GDX6900 - the timepiece is designed with pink, blue, and white sprinkles on an aqua background," reads the watch company's press release. "The cascading sprinkles are an ode to Johnny Cupcakes' ever-present cupcake motif on the packaging in addition of the timepiece. "

Casio does not explain why it thinks consumers will want to spend $200 Cdn on a wristwatch with a unique sprinkle motif.  Could be the first of many Cupcake partnering for Casio. "Fans of Johnny Cupcake and G-Shock will be sure to see this collectible timepiece as one of many. Adding to the colorful color and unique sprinkle motif, the exterior casing features an engraved Johnny Cupcakes insignia of a skull and crossbones, with a cupcake silhouette replacing the skull. "