Oprah's Favorite Things Hits Big This Holiday Season
Shelly Lowery
Oprah Winfrey is one of the most popular talk show hosts in
American television history. As her show enters its 21rst
season, she has millions of viewers who tune in each day.
One of her most popular segments is her "Favorite Things"
holiday show. During this show, Oprah shares with the
studio and television audience some of her favorite things
including jewelry, gadgets and vacation getaways.
People love this show because on the "Favorite Things" episode,
audience members get the extravagant gifts that Oprah
displays. Around 300 audience members are showered with
gifts each holiday episode. The amount varies, but Oprah
audience members can each expect to receive between $4,000 and
$15,000 worth of gifts. But, Oprah is a big winner as
well. The 2004 episode of "Oprah's Favorite Things"
had the highest ratings ever for a "Favorite Things" episode and
was the second highest rated episode for the season.
Oprah has been doing her "Favorite Things" episode since
1999. Guests received a set of Illumination Ritual
Candles, each one to inspire different feelings like love, peace
and passion and each candle contained a tiny gemstone
inside. The 12-candle set was valued at $169.95. Dog
owners were no doubt thrilled with the Fifi and Romeo Pet
Clothing ($150 and up) - one of Oprah's favorite things of
1999. One of the most extravagant gifts that year was a
Susan Abbott Personalized Painting, ranging from $5,000 and up.
Oprah loved the Susan Abbott painting given to her by author
Sarah Ban Breathnach. In 2000, Oprah added many hi-tech gadgets
like the Motorola Talkabout pager (priced at $179), so audience
members could receive email while on the go. Another
favorite thing from 2000 was the book equivalent of the iPod,
the Gemstar REB1100 eBook from RCA ($299). The Gemstar let
users download up to 8,000 book pages, so they never had to
carry around a book again. The BlissLabs Glamour Gloves ($44)
and Gel ($22) was one of Oprah's favorite things in 2002.
The Panasonic 4-in-1 Digital Camera from Frontgate ($449) was
also a big hit that year. The camera, the size of a credit
card, takes pictures and video, but can also be used as a MP3
player and audio recorder. In 2003, Oprah decided to do two
episodes of her favorite things segment - one in the Spring and
one in the Fall. Spring audience members got an Apple iPod
($399), Silhouette Minimal X Sunglasses ($175-$250), and a
Hewlett Packard Digital Camera, Printer and Dock (total value
$730) among other items. Fall audience members racked up
with UGG Classic Short Boots ($110), a Philip Stein Teslar Watch
($595), and a Sony DCR-DVD200 Handycam ($1000).
2004 was a very special Favorite Things segment for
Oprah. She convinced 300 teachers to attend her show,
under the premise of talking about education and a teacher's
daily routine. Instead, she surprised them with the
Favorite Things episode. The teachers received gifts such
as a Sony VAIO S260 notebook computer, a Dell 30" wide-screen
LCD television, a Maytag Neptune Top-Load Washer and Drying
Center, and a trip for two to the exclusive Miraval Resort and
Spa. Total gift amount for each teacher was about $15,000
- much more than the previous year total of $4,800. Oprah,
a supporter of education and teachers, knew the teachers were
worth every penny. In 2005, Oprah decided to make her favorite
things audience up of Katrina relief workers. Among the
gifts were Sony VAIO® FJ Notebook, Kashwére® Shawl Collar Robe,
BlackBerry 7105T from T-Mobile, and a couple of Oprah's
favorites from 2004, UGG Australia's Uptown Boot and an Apple
iPod. While considerably less than the year before, the
2005 recipients still received over $7,000 worth of items.
Probably due in part to Oprah's television audience as well as
her personal appeal, each year the manufacturer's of the items
found on Oprah's favorite things donate all the gifts. But
they reap great benefits from doing so. They get
television exposure and an immediate increase in sales after
each episode. Companies like Sephora and Macy's have both
publically stated that as soon as Oprah mentions one of their
products, people are coming in the stores in droves to get it.
So in the end, it is a win-win situation. The
manufacturers see increased sales, the audience gets great
gifts, and Oprah just keeps on getting more and more popular
with her viewing audience.
About the author:
Shelley Lowery is a successful writer with an interest in
celebrities like Oprah Winfrey. She demonstrates the power of
Oprah's Favorite Things list each year on the holiday shopping
season. http://www.oprahs-favorite-things.com
Oprah Winfrey is one of the most popular talk show hosts in
American television history. As her show enters its 21rst
season, she has millions of viewers who tune in each day.
One of her most popular segments is her "Favorite Things"
holiday show. During this show, Oprah shares with the
studio and television audience some of her favorite things
including jewelry, gadgets and vacation getaways.
People love this show because on the "Favorite Things" episode,
audience members get the extravagant gifts that Oprah
displays. Around 300 audience members are showered with
gifts each holiday episode. The amount varies, but Oprah
audience members can each expect to receive between $4,000 and
$15,000 worth of gifts. But, Oprah is a big winner as
well. The 2004 episode of "Oprah's Favorite Things"
had the highest ratings ever for a "Favorite Things" episode and
was the second highest rated episode for the season.
Oprah has been doing her "Favorite Things" episode since
1999. Guests received a set of Illumination Ritual
Candles, each one to inspire different feelings like love, peace
and passion and each candle contained a tiny gemstone
inside. The 12-candle set was valued at $169.95. Dog
owners were no doubt thrilled with the Fifi and Romeo Pet
Clothing ($150 and up) - one of Oprah's favorite things of
1999. One of the most extravagant gifts that year was a
Susan Abbott Personalized Painting, ranging from $5,000 and up.
Oprah loved the Susan Abbott painting given to her by author
Sarah Ban Breathnach. In 2000, Oprah added many hi-tech gadgets
like the Motorola Talkabout pager (priced at $179), so audience
members could receive email while on the go. Another
favorite thing from 2000 was the book equivalent of the iPod,
the Gemstar REB1100 eBook from RCA ($299). The Gemstar let
users download up to 8,000 book pages, so they never had to
carry around a book again. The BlissLabs Glamour Gloves ($44)
and Gel ($22) was one of Oprah's favorite things in 2002.
The Panasonic 4-in-1 Digital Camera from Frontgate ($449) was
also a big hit that year. The camera, the size of a credit
card, takes pictures and video, but can also be used as a MP3
player and audio recorder. In 2003, Oprah decided to do two
episodes of her favorite things segment - one in the Spring and
one in the Fall. Spring audience members got an Apple iPod
($399), Silhouette Minimal X Sunglasses ($175-$250), and a
Hewlett Packard Digital Camera, Printer and Dock (total value
$730) among other items. Fall audience members racked up
with UGG Classic Short Boots ($110), a Philip Stein Teslar Watch
($595), and a Sony DCR-DVD200 Handycam ($1000).
2004 was a very special Favorite Things segment for
Oprah. She convinced 300 teachers to attend her show,
under the premise of talking about education and a teacher's
daily routine. Instead, she surprised them with the
Favorite Things episode. The teachers received gifts such
as a Sony VAIO S260 notebook computer, a Dell 30" wide-screen
LCD television, a Maytag Neptune Top-Load Washer and Drying
Center, and a trip for two to the exclusive Miraval Resort and
Spa. Total gift amount for each teacher was about $15,000
- much more than the previous year total of $4,800. Oprah,
a supporter of education and teachers, knew the teachers were
worth every penny. In 2005, Oprah decided to make her favorite
things audience up of Katrina relief workers. Among the
gifts were Sony VAIO® FJ Notebook, Kashwére® Shawl Collar Robe,
BlackBerry 7105T from T-Mobile, and a couple of Oprah's
favorites from 2004, UGG Australia's Uptown Boot and an Apple
iPod. While considerably less than the year before, the
2005 recipients still received over $7,000 worth of items.
Probably due in part to Oprah's television audience as well as
her personal appeal, each year the manufacturer's of the items
found on Oprah's favorite things donate all the gifts. But
they reap great benefits from doing so. They get
television exposure and an immediate increase in sales after
each episode. Companies like Sephora and Macy's have both
publically stated that as soon as Oprah mentions one of their
products, people are coming in the stores in droves to get it.
So in the end, it is a win-win situation. The
manufacturers see increased sales, the audience gets great
gifts, and Oprah just keeps on getting more and more popular
with her viewing audience.
About the author:
Shelley Lowery is a successful writer with an interest in
celebrities like Oprah Winfrey. She demonstrates the power of
Oprah's Favorite Things list each year on the holiday shopping
season. http://www.oprahs-favorite-things.com
posted by The Editor at
5:06 AM
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