The Academy Awards are on Sunday, and while not everyone will take home a coveted Oscar statuette, all of the top acting and directing nominees and the host will receive a gift bag full of swag.
Lash Fary, co-founder of LA-based marketing company Distinctive Assets, has been delivering the over-the-top "Everyone Wins" gift bags for more than 20 years.
"We do this independently of the Academy, which means I get to decide who gets it," Fary said. "This goes to the top acting and directing nominees, which is 25 people. And then we always throw one in for the host. So this year, cutie patootie Conan O'Brien is going to get one."
The gift bags are not affiliated with the Academy Awards but are instead a private marketing endeavor. Marketing is at the core of what these gift bags are all about.
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This year's gift bag is valued at over six figures according to Fary, and is filled with luxurious gifts. One of the most expensive gifts is an invitation to enjoy a $23,000 vacation at two award-winning luxury resorts in the Maldives for four nights.
"I think the biggest assumption about our 'Everyone Wins' gift bags is that we're doing this out of, well, they don't need it is sort of the response that I get. I'm like, of course they don't need it," Fary told NBC. "They also don't need $10 or $20 or $30 million for a film, but that's what they get because of the marquee value of their names."
"The need is really that these brands, many of them are small businesses, female-owned businesses, minority-owned businesses," Fary said. "These brands can really benefit by the stardust that these nominees sprinkle on the product."
This year, among all the "fun and fabulous" gifts, there was a significant give-back component in light of the tragic Los Angeles fires.
Distinctive Assets teamed up with Bright Harbor, a disaster recovery service that helps survivors navigate insurance, government assistance and vetting vendors for remediation. Each nominee is getting a one-year subscription in addition to 10 one-year memberships that they can freely regift to friends, family and even fans who perhaps lost their homes in the LA fires.
"There's this general sense in LA of not necessarily moving on, but moving forward," Fary explained. "I think part of emotional disaster recovery for a city is continuing to enjoy life's amazing moments when they come along. Certainly an Oscar nomination is one of them. And if anything, appreciating those amazing moments, big and small, even more.
"We wanted to make sure we were providing the nominees something that would brighten their day, whether it's because they were affected by the fire, or someone in their life was. Also, a lot of these items are meant for self-care and a way for them to sort of re-gift these as care packages to someone in their life who might be affected."
For now, Adrien Brody, Sebastian Stan, Colman Domingo, Zoe Saldaña, Cynthia Erivo, Demi Moore, Kieran Culkin and more will receive best-in-class beauty items, luxurious vacations, health & wellness tools and even opportunities to give back.
Here are a few highlights of what's included:
- A five-night luxury wellness retreat in the Sri Lankan hills from Santani
- A luxury gift set from Miage skincare
- $25,000 worth of ArtLipo body contouring with Dr. Thomas Su
- A stay at the five-star Cotton House Hotel in Barcelona
- A $25,000 live show from mentalist Carl Christman which “combines magic, mind reading, hypnosis and comedy.”
Which Oscar nominee is Fary personally rooting for? Timothée Chalamet and Ariana Grande.
"I love Timmy Chalamet. His performance was so incredible" Fary said.
"Also, Ariana Grande's performance to me was one of the most transcendent of the year. I'd loved 'Wicked' for 20 years now, but I thought that she stole the show. I know that she probably won't win, but I'm secretly rooting for Ariana, as well."
The 97th Academy Awards will air at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 2, on ABC.
