from www.lasvegasweekly.com – What to get your favorite porn enthusiast for the holidays this year? May we humbly suggest some good old-fashioned porn-themed merchandise?
“That exists?!” you say. Damn straight, we say.
Las Vegas-based Arrow Productions, the porn house that brought you the most celebrated skin flick in the adult industry—Deep Throat—has rolled out a long line of merchandise to stuff your favorite pornophile’s stocking.
“We are like the Star Wars of porn,” jokes Robert Interlandi, Arrow’s marketing director, who hatched the idea to sell Deep Throat-themed merchandise five years ago.
To be clear, we’re not talking about W. Mark Felt, whose “Deep Throat” secret identity helped a pair of Washington Post reporters bring down Richard Nixon in 1974. No, we’re talking about Deep Throat the film, which debuted in 1972 and is now one of the highest-grossing films of all time, Interlandi says.
Now with more branding.
Think Linda Lovelace or Harry Reems action figures. Deep Throat energy drinks. (Slogan: “Keep it UP all night.”) Deep Throat shot glasses. Deep Throat skins for your iPod, Guitar Hero or beer-pong table. Framed film cels for your wall. Deep Throat posters, comic books, T-shirts, hats, hoodies …
All for sale at www.xxxdeepthroat.com
Spencer Gifts also is selling the shot glasses in its brick-and-mortar stores for $5, and is expected to start carrying Deep Throat T-shirts and action figures by February 2010, Interlandi says.
The idea to brand and market Deep Throat—and Arrow’s other staples, like The Devil in Miss Jones and Candy Stripers—began as Interlandi’s joke to create a Deep Throat beer five years ago. (You can imagine the zingers: Beer that can never have too much head! With an extra long neck! Nyuknyuk.)
Deep Throat beer morphed into Deep Throat energy drinks when Interlandi realized he didn’t want to wrassle with the feds over permits to sell hooch.
And because Vegas’ market is, uh, so tight, Interlandi says, the Deep Throat energy drinks are only available, at least for now, at the Lucky Club Casino and Talk of the Town and Déja Vu Showgirls strip clubs, which also happen to belong to Arrow’s owner, Ray Pistol.
Interlandi is a little fuzzy in terms of the success of his new merchandising campaign, and how the products are faring on the market.
“A lot of the deals that I’ve signed only started five years ago,” he says. “It’s just starting to grow, but it’s definitely making the brand more diverse.”
But why would anyone besides your creepy uncle Lester want a Deep Throat Guitar Hero skin?
“I don’t know,” Interlandi says with a laugh. “They’re awesome conversation pieces.”