It's back. No, I'm not referring to my creepy ex boyfriend, I am talking about the Sex and the City juggernut manifesting itself in the second instalment of the movie, Sex and the City 2. A part from the welcomed spot light the movie has put on the fashion industry, the brand itself has generated millions of dollars for industries a lot less glamourous like tech, travel, beverages, automobiles, heck even internet web sites (Rent-a-bag web site Bag, Borrow, Steal got a significant lift in biz when Jennifer Hudson proclaimed her Louis Vuitton was NOT owned but RENTED). Vanity Fair created an extensive and complete list of product placement goers from the first movie, which included designer names like Dior, Ferragamo, DvF, and Hermes, techie names such as Apple, iPhone, Dell and Sprint and in the "Sips and Snacks" department, Starbucks, Pelligrino, Pret-a-Manger and Cup of Noodles, all to tune of $100 million and this isn't including the total worldwide film and DVD gross which tops close $420 million.
New Line Cinema hasn't confirmed the tie in deal they had with Apple for the last movie is officially severed, but from the looks of it Hewlett Packard is stepping up with brand extension insanity (private screenings for bloggers to SJP with her own HP ad and who knows what's to come in the movie since I haven't seen it), as well as Mercedes Benz and probably an airline company given the foursome are traveling to Abu Dhabi by way of Morocco. And how much has HBO made from the "Sex and the City" frenzy? While they wouldn't disclose the exact figure, HBO claims they have made "hundreds of millions of dollars" from the subscribers garnered from the show, to DVD sales and the sale of syndication rights to TBS for $750,000 per episode. And let's not forget the SATC Martini Shaker for $29.99. the "Miranda" Martini Glass for $14.99 or the SATC garment bag for $29.99 that are selling out in the NYC store and online. You hear that sound? That would be Candace Bushnell hitting her head against the wall (cosmo in hand) for selling the rights to SATC to HBO for a mere six figures in the early 90s. Hindsight's always 20/20, peeps.