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February 25, 2019

Oscars Swag Bags: $100K of Cannabis Candy, Lipstick and Dog Leashes

By  John Corrigan

The 91st Academy Awards wrapped up Sunday night and this year, only a handful of the nominees received the ceremony’s famous swag bag. If your favorite Hollywood star didn’t win an Oscar, chances are they still took home a bag of goodies worth more than an estimated $100,000, if they were nominated for Best Actor/Actress, Best Supporting Actor/Actress or Best Director.

Los Angeles-based marketing agency Distinctive Assets has been sourcing and kitting the Oscars swag bag for the past 17 years, though it is not officially associated with the Academy. Companies looking to include their items in the bag – though it comes with no promise that celebrities will publicly endorse any of it – pay a minimum of $3,000 for inclusion, according to Money.com.

Among the items in this year’s “Everyone Wins Nominee Gift Bag” were Coda Signature cannabis-infused chocolates, color-changing lipstick by Blush & Whimsy, dog leashes, lemonade-flavored moonshine, a subscription to the Wall Street Journal and a gift set from Rouge Maple, a company whose products are made from organic maple syrup.

Celebs also received a tote bag and a T-shirt from Love Is Stronger Than Hate, a charitable brand that donates part of its proceeds to Stars for HOPE and the New York Says Thank You Foundation, two organizations which support schools and communities recovering from tragedies caused by natural and human-caused disasters.

Recipients can also enjoy a week at the all-inclusive Golden Door Spa in California, 10 personal training sessions with celebrity trainer Alexis Seletzky and an international expedition offered by adventure travel company International Expeditions. Two people can hop aboard a small luxury-ship and choose to go to Iceland, the Galapagos, the Amazon or Costa Rica and Panama. The package, which also includes spa treatments and cooking lessons with a private chef, is valued at $15,000-$20,000.

In the weeks leading up to Sunday’s ceremony, the Academy set up the Oscars pop-up store for its second year. Housed at Hollywood & Highland, home of the ceremony's Dolby Theatre, merchandise included hats, hoodies and other Oscars paraphernalia, only available in-person at the temporary store.