Sinatra's Stamp And Fred Astaire's Vacuum

It has been a decade (May 14, 1998) since his death but the music of Frank Sinatra is still everywhere. "New York, New York" can be heard at every Yankee baseball game. Evening dining at any upscale restaurant usually features a musical rendition of a famous Frank Sinatra tune. His movies can still be seen on cable television and on DVD.

Of course, the ongoing popularity of Frank Sinatra is due to a storied career that spanned six decades of time. It included the sale of more than 500 million records and a starring role in more than 50 films. Even in his final years, Francis Albert Sinatra, known as the ''Chairman of the Board'' to his colleagues in the entertainment industry and ``Ol' Blue Eyes'' to millions of adoring fans, could still top the charts.

Sinatra's final public concerts were held in Japan's Fukuoka Dome in December 1994. Three months later at a private party for 1,200 select guests on the closing night of the Frank Sinatra Desert Classic golf tournament, Sinatra sang before a live audience for the last time. Esquire Magazine would report of the show that Sinatra was "clear, tough, on the money, and in absolute control."

Now, ten years after his death, the continued public popularity for the late singer will lead to an increased promotion for the Sinatra brand name. However, due to his death, the promotion of the brand will now be outside of the singer's control. Already, the tenth anniversary of his death is being marked by a host of Sinatra events; a compilation of songs from his Reprise years called "Nothing But The Best" as well as new Sinatra DVD collections, and planned TV specials.

The tenth anniversary of Sinatra's death will also include the release of a new U.S. postage stamp that bears his likeness. The design of the stamp was unveiled last December on what would have been the 92nd birthday of the entertainer. The design shows a 1950s vintage image of Sinatra, wearing a hat.

In addition to the postage stamp, there are two new major Sinatra advertising deals in place and Warner Brothers is nearing completion for two others. Soon, several products will have Frank Sinatra as its high profile salesman. The likely areas for future Sinatra promotions are in gaming, fine dining, the finest apparel and luxury items.

The promotion of celebrities in business ventures after their death always comes with a substantial degree of risk. Consider the problems with the promotion by the late Fred Astaire with vacuum cleaners. In January 1997, with Robyn Astaire's blessing, Astaire's image returned to television through special effects editing.

Dirt Devil inserted its vacuum cleaners into dance scenes from Astaire's films for three of its commercials. The late star was digitally made to dance with a Dirt Devil vacuum cleaner. The press immediately criticized these Astaire Dirt Devil dancing commercials. The general feeling was that replacing Ginger Rogers with a vacuum cleaner was in poor taste.

While the 1997 Dirt Devil Super Bowl commercials were trying to be clever, the fans of the late actor, dancer, and singer were not very amused. In the second quarter of the company's fiscal year, sales of Dirt Devil vacuums actually fell. It was a costly business price to pay for an already expensive Super Bowl commercial.

Hopefully, increasing the promotion of the Frank Sinatra brand, will not succumb to such bad taste and exploitive commercial greed. Unlike the Fred Astaire vacuum cleaner commercial, a postage stamp is a good way to commemorate the life and career of Sinatra. As for the future promotional ventures of commercial products by the late entertainer, only time will tell.

However, rewriting or revising the work of a deceased celebrity for the sake of a current product promotion would be considered to be in bad taste. It is a mistake that would likely prove costly to the brand and anger the long time dedicated fan. In Sinatra’s case it would certainly run counter to the premise of the title of his final song, "The Best Is Yet To Come".

James William Smith has worked in senior management positions for some of the largest financial services firms in the United States for the last twenty five years. He has also provided business consulting support for insurance organizations and start up businesses. Mr. Smith has a Bachelor of Science Degree from Boston College. He enjoys writing articles on political, national, and world events. Visit his website at http://www.eworldvu.com