LONDON — Lovehoney’s “The Official Fifty Shades of Grey Pleasure Collection” has been featured in a number of U.S. mainstream media outlets.
Riding on the popularity of the “Fifty Shades of Grey” movie, Lovehoney said its products were showcased in NBC’s Access Hollywood Live in a two-minute “Fifty Shades for Rookies” segment telling viewers how to give their Valentine’s date night a “Fifty Shades of Pleasure” make-over, while CBS’s Insider explored how couples could recreate what they see on screen in Christian Grey’s Red Room using the Official Pleasure Collection.
Lovehoney noted that CNBC’s “Fifty Shades of Green” report revealed how retailers were preparing to cash in on the release of the movie by selling the officially licensed products.
HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver took a sideways look at the phenomenon and featured handcuffs from the Collection. The HBO clip was viewed 1.5 million times on YouTube, according to Lovehoney.
“The coverage that The Official Pleasure Collection has received from mainstream media is phenomenal. No pleasure industry brand has ever received this level of coverage. It’s the biggest name in the business,” Lovehoney co-founder Richard Longhurst said.
The business press also highlighted the boost that the products could give to adult retailers, Lovehoney noted. “Purveyors of official merchandise are already experiencing a rush of demand,” said Bloomberg in a syndicated article, describing ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ as “a recognizable brand for the mass population.”
“Fifty Shades of Grey in sales frenzy” ran the headline in the Hollywood Reporter. “Now that the movie is arriving, merchandise numbers likely will hit new heights,” the article said.
CNN Money revealed that “retailers aren't shy about cashing in on the enormous popularity of 'Fifty Shades of Grey,'” adding that the official ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ products gave retailers “no shortage of marketing opportunities.”
Yahoo! Finance also had advice for consumers. “For those women (and men) who might want to recreate the fantasies portrayed in the book but aren’t accustomed to shopping for the, ahem, merchandise, E L James has created a ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ line of sex toys to eliminate any awkward shopping moments,” the site said.
Lovehoney noted that The New York Times, Fox21News and Nasdaq.com also featured its Official Pleasure Collection.
The products were also featured in Cosmopolitan magazine along with women’s websites YourTango and PopSugar.
A clip on Buzzfeed’s "Try Guys" that showed the hosts using the Collection to try bondage play for the first time was viewed more than 5 million times on Facebook and YouTube, according to Lovehoney.
