Secrets of Celebrity Swag Season

Most people exchange gifts at year-end holidays like Christmas and Hanukkah. But celebrities have "Swag Season." From Sundance to the Oscars, 'tis the time for mountains of clothes, beauty products, shoes, jackets, jewelry, vacations, and even plastic surgery, all free for a star's taking.

Why give Colin Farrell a $10,000 vacation to a five-star resort in Portugal or wrap Paris Hilton's wrist in a $15,000 sapphire and diamond-encrusted watch (both of these giftings occurred at Sundance)? It's good business. Period.

Slideshow: A Field Guide to Celebrity Gifting

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Even after coughing up a fee of anywhere from $25,000 to $300,000 or more for the right to give their stuff away, the economics make sense, vendors say. Farrell could now be name-dropped in press releases and media mentions for the resort. Hilton will be photographed wearing the watch, so it will appear for millions of readers in magazines like US Weekly and People.

"To be able to say Jessica Alba uses a certain product...it's essential," says a rep at Sundance who was handing out beauty products (including to Alba) from Drugstore.com.

Lawrence Rubin of Swiss watch company Meyers, who was "loaning" diamond watches to celebs like Hilton at Sundance, estimates the resulting publicity is worth $750,000. Rubin says the watches are returned in several months and auctioned off for charity.

For celebs, the appeal is obvious. Even little-known names can clean up. "This is the best day of my life!" crowed Jonathan Montoya, guitarist for the metal band Saliva, upon hauling in Sundance loot valued at $30,000, including $1,000 worth of Burton snowboarding gear and a three-day vacation at a Park City, Colo., resort.

Montoya isn't likely to be featured in the pages of US Weekly, but vendors must establish relationships with up-and -comers, hoping that brand loyalty will follow the talent into superstardom.

One name many vendors agreed they do not want associated with their brand: Britney Spears.

"Britney has some, err, trouble these days," says Marjorie Kitzrow of Marjorie Midgarden Fragrances, gingerly explaining why she wouldn't gift the wacky warbler (who was not at Sundance) with a two-ounce bottle of perfume worth $150.

A publicist handing out beauty supplies was blunter: "I'm not sending Britney anything but well wishes."

Hilton, on the other hand, is a favorite. "Paris can make a product, and she always says 'thank you,'" says Lara Shriftman, a gifting veteran whose publicity firm Harrison & Shriftman started "swag lounges" at Sundance in 1997. Now, Shriftman feels the scene is out of control: "It's just a free-for-all. There's no strategy," she says. "The press is focused on the gifting and not the films."

The often disparaging media coverage ("Which Swag Sister Was the Greediest at Sundance?" polled OK magazine) could be swag season's undoing. Some stars, such as Jessica Alba and Eliza Dushku, shy away from posing with freebies.

Others just avoid the scene altogether. "Brad and Angelina don't go gifting," says Jodi Simms Hassan of Alison Brod public relations. Others often have to refuse swag, lest they end up breaking contractual obligations by promoting a brand competing with one they're endorsing.

An even sterner judge than OK magazine has infiltrated the scene: The IRS. Last year, the agency decreed that recipients must pay taxes on their loot. But Sundance vendors seemed oblivious. "Let [the celebs] handle it themselves," said one.

A recent trend, called "reverse swag," has vendors trying to inject a hint of beneficence into the orgy of materialism.

Timberland, handing out $160 boots and $200 jackets at Sundance's Village at the Yard lounge, had recipients first listen to a spiel on the company's eco-friendliness. Diesel allowed stars to pick out an outfit -- and have it sent to a needy child.

Other lounges had areas where celebs could put their swag-strained arms to do-gooder use by signing a petition for Amnesty International, filming a public service announcement for "Rock the Vote," or joining the Humane Society.

"This way," says Christopher Robichaud of public relations firm BNC, which headed up Village at the Yard, "You walk away thinking, 'There's a brand that has heart.'"

Um, sure.