My Week with Marilyn was released on DVD yesterday in America and will be available in the UK on Friday. Marilyn Monroe is one of the most iconic movie stars of all time, even although this year marks the 50th anniversary of her death. The Marilyn brand (the licensing rights to her branded image were bought by Authentic Brands Group LLC in 2011) is about to go into overdrive. Not only is there the film, there is a television show called Smash beginning next month, a London exhibition of costumes she wore and photographs, she is the official face of the 65th Cannes Film Festival, she has launched her own Twitter and Facebook accounts, there are rumours of Marilyn actually staring in a movie, Marilyn cafes, MAC are releasing a Marilyn range in October and apparently there are clothing and home lines in the pipeline. The list goes on and on.
Marilyn Monroe is not only now a brand herself, but due to her continuing popularity, marketers are keen for her to endorse their products even in death! A key example of this is the Dior J'Adore advertisement below. This also featured other dead celebrities (or 'delebs' as they have become known) Grace Kelly (there is now rumoured to be an upcoming movie about Grace Kelly with Nicole Kidman rumoured to be playing the lead role) and Marlene Dietrich.
There are many advantages and disadvantages to using a dead celebrity to endorse a brand. It could be argued that to use a dead celebrity to endorse your brand is a good strategic move as they will not charge you the now extortionate fees living stars charge and there are no concerns about what the celebrity might do to damage the brand's reputation. However, is it in bad taste to use a person who died 50 years ago in this way? Perhaps if she had only died recently then it would be condemned. If Whitney Houston suddenly appeared in an advertisement for Dior today, there would almost certainly be a backlash. However, the public appear more willing to accept the likes of Marilyn, Grace and Marlene appearing on their TV screen. This is perhaps because they all died some time ago and many viewers would not have been born when these celebrities were alive or were too young at the time to remember them.
Marilyn at an awards ceremony in 1953
There is an ongoing debate about introducing a law (similar to California) which would create "publicity rights for dead celebrities whose names, voices, signatures, photographs or likenesses had commercial value at the time of their death." They could then bequeath these rights to their heirs and the rights would expire after 70 years. This could raise problems for brands wishing to use the image of deceased stars. However, would Marilyn herself have approved? She was famously quoted as saying "What do I wear in bed? Why Chanel No.5, of course" not Dior. Chanel is still associated with Marilyn thanks to this comment. Also digitally altering her onto the advertisement has made her eyes look odd and that she certainly would not approve of!
Marilyn and Chanel No.5
Do you think it is possible for a dead celebrity's image to be sold and to respect their memory? Or is everyone just out to make money irrespective of whether the deceased star would have approved? If so, would a new law protecting their publicity rights be a wise move? Has our love of celebrity gone too far and become morbid?
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