‘Grey’s Anatomy’ … and Closet
By: MARCELLE S. FISCHLER
Published: February 25, 2007
After watching an episode of “Grey’s Anatomy,” Sarah Grace McCandless, 32, a novelist from Washington, went shopping. The $160 Citizens for Humanity jeans that she bought online had a special appeal that wasn’t about the label.
“I bought jeans that Meredith was wearing,” said Ms. McCandless, a self-described pop culture addict, referring to the character Meredith Grey. “I don’t have Meredith’s body, but you can order them in different sizes.”
Ms. McCandless also has a pair of the True Religion jeans that Izzie wore, along with brown boots like the pair from Frye worn by Cristina, also characters on “Grey’s Anatomy.”
Ms. Candless shops on SeenON.com (also known as SeenON!), one of a cluster of TV- and movie-themed Web sites offering breathless behind-the-scenes chatter, as well as instant gratification for those with a taste for celebrity style. Fans are now just clicks away from owning not only the clothes and accessories worn by characters on more than 100 television shows and movies, but also the sofas they sit on and the martini glasses they drink from.
Screens big and small are already full of recognizable brands like Coke and Cheerios placed in strategic view, a practice known as explicit product placement. But, until recently, viewers had to work at identifying the shoes or earrings characters wore.
Because of the Internet, the selling of more than 20,000 products that are not easily recognizable or never identified in a script, called shopping-enabled entertainment, is taking off, driven by consumerism and celebrity worship.
“There are thousands and thousands of products that are naturally embedded in these shows,” said Ashley Heather, a new-media entrepreneur and chief executive of Entertainment Media Works, which last March started an entertainment shopping site, StarStyle.com.
StarStyle lets fans buy a soup-tureen set from Nora Walker’s pantry on the ABC series “Brothers & Sisters,” the polka-dot halter dress like the one that Diane Keaton’s Daphne character wears in the film “Because I Said So” or a velvet blazer like the one Taylor Hicks wore on “American Idol.” (Many products are the same as what the stars wore, but sometimes a similar, less expensive version is offered, and identified as such.)
Viewers can shop by show, character, product or brand. Starting Tuesday, SeenON! will feature a “Look for Less” Oscar tie-in, selling versions of the dresses, shoes and earrings worn on the red carpet.
As more consumers use digital video recorders and watch fewer commercials, “brands are looking at ways to connect with viewers,” said Travis Schneider, the founder of StarBrand Media, which started StarBrand.tv in 2004. “It’s a marriage of consumers’ fascination with celebrity culture and new technologies that is allowing this to happen,” Mr. Schneider said.
