Even if you don't win an Oscar (the golden statuette itself is only worth $1), if you're an Academy Award nominee you walk away with a gift bag filled with some seriously lavish schwag.
Town & Country reports that each one is stuffed with promotional gifts valued at $120K:
…the swag bag includes a variety of luxury items, from spa-grade cosmetics, to the advanced Quip electric toothbrush, a year-supply of fresh California oranges, an experience with a personal trainer, and 6-12-day travel packages to Tanzania, Greece, and Hawaii.
For the past 16 years, marketing agency Distinctive Assets has made the "'Everyone Wins' Nominee Gift Bag." Interestingly, the bag is unofficial and not presented at the awards ceremony itself.
Each bag is big enough to fit a number of human bodies and heavy enough to risk back injury if you tried to lift it with poor form…
It's difficult to behold the collection of gifts without contemplating class war. This year's offerings include a slate of skin-care, weight-loss and anti-aging products designed to fend off the inevitable progression of human life, as well as something called "Chao Pinhole Gum Rejuvenation." The bag features fancy chocolates from Chocolatines in flavors unknown to the proletariat such as "Champagne Diamond" and "Ginger Sake Pearl." We sampled the "Pomegranate Balsamic Ruby" but couldn't taste the ruby.
This year's most expensive offering is a $40,000 luxury trip to Tanzania from International Expeditions…
Some of the bag's gifts make strange bedfellows. The "D. Thomas Signature DNA Head to Toe" treatment promises in a Distinctive Assets news release to use "the magic and science of laser and light" to " 'soft focus' your skin's imperfections from head to toe." Tucked in beside it is the children's book "Curlee Girlee" by Atara Twersky, with the stated mission of "empowering young girls to love all their unique features."
