The Selling Power Of The Stars

It was recently announced that the women's magazine, McCall's, which feels like it's been around longer than just about anything, will now be called Rosie's McCall's.

Rosie, of course, is Rosie O'Donnell who was quoted as saying something like, "Anything that's good enough for Martha Stewart and Oprah is OK with me."

Martha, as you know, along with everything else has a magazine as does Oprah whose magazine is called Oprah or O. I'm not sure which.

A long time ago I remember celebrities only being associated with their things, like Fred Astaire's or Gene Kelly's dance studios or Arnold Palmer's golf clubs. Now I think Arnold is associated with a muffler or something like that.

I see Bette Midler's name connected to stretches of highway in my area, but I think that means she is paying to have that stretch cleaned up, not that she owns it.

I know I'm personally considering wearing three shades of mauve from the Regis clothing line, because of my affection for Regis Philbin, so I guess this celebrity product thing mostly works.

I actually liked it when the French film star Catherine Deneuve laid her perfume Deneuve on us. It felt right. If she'd have followed that with a boot named Deneuve, I don't know.

What I'm really afraid of is not Regis' clothing line, but today Regis' clothing line, tomorrow Regis' stock newsletter, Paul Newman's satellite dishes and Rosie's driving ranges. What about Charles Grodin's soap?