Sometimes I think of side projects.
Last week at the office, we segued into a conversation about the absurdity of the award show gift bag. The idea that the most famous people in the world, who already get to attend something as exclusive as the Oscars, need a $20,000+ bag of swag to make them feel valued.
And I started to think: what is the total value of all of those bags, at auction.
And I started to think: what is the simplest way to reach out to as many award show attendees as possible, asking them if they’d be willing to donate their bag to an online charity auction.
And I started to think: how much would the perceptual value of the goods (iPods, Swarovski crystals, designer clothing, etc) included in these bags increase due to the connection with 1) the event itself, and 2) individual celebrities.
A system that would let celebrities (or their reps) make a public pledge, some sponsorship to reduce the costs of shipping, and a nice chunk of human hours, could create a nice amount of money, and awareness for charities, directly out of one of the clearest examples of unnecessary excess that I can think of.
That said, I’d not passionate enough about the idea to actually see it through, even if I think it’s a neat idea. So, someone should probably steal it.
