THE NAKED CITY – THE MORE ‘MERCH’ THE MERRIER!

In April of this year American basketballer Kobe Bryant flogged a record $1.2 million worth of merchandise at a game at the Staples Centre, eclipsing a previous $1 million record set by Led Zeppelin at a single concert in 2007. There’s no doubt that so called ‘merchandising’ strikes a strong psychological note with many of us – a reverential desire to own just a little bit of that musician, sportsperson, movie star or animal that we admire.

Speaking of non-humans, one of the most unusual merchandising successes of recent years is that built around feline superstar Lil Bub. The runt of a litter with permanently protruding tongue, ‘Bub’ became an immediate internet sensation after her photos were posted on Tumblr and Reddit. Since then she has spawned a remarkable merchandising career that includes her own dedicated ‘Bub’ shop selling t-shirts, toys, socks and books as well as full length doco, a TV show, and even a recording career that includes her ‘meow meow’ vocalisations.

The merchandising began almost as a joke on the part of her owner Mike Bridavsky and friends, but has since blossomed into a genuine cult following that includes personal appearances and celebrity encounters with Robert de Niro and Whoopi Goldberg. Much of the money raised goes to funding a wild life refuge for larger cats, like lions and tigers, as well as drawing attention to the plight of domestic cats in shelters.

Equally unusual is a recent ‘merch’ site established by Australian filmmaker Andrew Leavold as part of his ongoing tribute to the remarkable, but now deceased, 83cm tall (or short) Filipino action film star Weng Weng. Director of the highly acclaimed doco The Search For Weng Weng, Andrew has recently introduced a unique range of Weng Weng memorabilia for his many fans around the world. The ‘merch’ website features Weng bobbleheads, t-shirts, fridge magnets, hand-made copies of an actual head cast of Weng Weng and hand painted busts. There’s even a set of selected prints featuring Weng Weng’s grills, as featured in his various feature films. Check out a most interesting site, with lots of info on Weng Weng’s amazing movie career as well at www.wengwengforever.com.

American elections have always produced mountains of campaign merchandising from oversized buttons, through to baseball caps and bumper stickers. The upcoming stoush between Clinton and Trump promises an avalanche of such stuff, but what about the dreary old contest now taking place in Australia. Where you might ask is the merchandising?

All the major parties are hellbent on raising thousands in political funding, but none it seems have really stooped so low as to offer a full US-style range of gaudy badges, t-shirts and coffee mugs. Trawl through the internet and you’ll find some amazing American election merch that could well be adapted for the Australian market, like the John McCain branded peppermints labelled “Proven Fresh Breath” and dedicated “attack” merchandising like the Donald Trump bubblehead style butt plug.

Some genuine Oz style merch would certainly put some zing into the current lacklustre campaign. How about a Malcolm Turnbull kangaroo paw back scratcher, emblazoned with the motto “You Scratch My Back And I’ll Scratch Yours”? Or a pair of Bill Shorten plastic man boobs would be a great self-deprecating gag for the Labor Party, with any post election surplus stock easily sold off to the Fyshwick adult boutiques. Bob Katter could certainly use an abundant supply of the old bullet hole bumper stickers, whilst a Pauline Hanson campaign boomerang really needs no explanation – throw it away and she just keeps coming back!