WHEN the singer Mariah Carey and her husband, the actor and rapper Nick Cannon, appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” last September, Mr. Cannon told of how he proposed in 2008: he presented Ms. Carey with a Ring Pop, the gem-shaped lollipop on a ring. Inside the package was a proper engagement ring. Upon hearing the story, executives at Elizabeth Arden, the cosmetics company that since 2007 has sold a Mariah Carey fragrance collection, began to develop a proposal of their own.
Mariah Carey’s Lollipop Bling, three fragrances that Elizabeth Arden based on candy flavors and that will appear in stores soon, is the product of a partnership with the Topps Company, which makes Ring Pops. Print advertisements for the perfume in August issues of publications like Cosmopolitan, Elle and People Style Watch will show Ms. Carey wearing three Ring Pops.
The fragrances, named after Ms. Carey’s songs “Ribbon,” “Honey” and “Mine Again,” will be introduced by July 1 at department stores including Macy’s and Dillard’s, where with each purchase consumers will get a free Ring Pop.
Early next year, before Valentine’s Day, when romantics flock to both the perfume and candy aisles, the fragrances will be available in mass retailers like Wal-Mart and in drug stores. There, stand-alone display racks will feature both the fragrances and Ring Pops, with the candies in a special “Bling Collection” three-pack that promotes the fragrances. Ms. Carey was not available for comment.
A one-ounce bottle of the perfume will retail for $35, the 1.5-ounce candy three-pack will cost about $1.50.
“Topps sells tens of millions of units of candy,” said E. Scott Beattie, chief executive at Elizabeth Arden, which also has fragrance licensing deals with celebrities including Britney Spears, Danielle Steel and Elizabeth Taylor. “Combining their customer base with Mariah Carey’s fan base and our fragrance base is a great way to cross-promote all the brands.”
Since its introduction three years ago, the Mariah Carey line, with three fragrances, has grossed more than $150 million, Elizabeth Arden said.
In 2009, the company spent $5.2 million advertising the perfume, while Topps spent $750,000 advertising Ring Pops, according to Kantar Media, a unit of WPP.
Noreen Dodge, senior vice president of global marketing at the cosmetics company, said that the current fragrances draw the younger end of the singer’s fan base of 18- to 45-year-olds, mostly those 18 to 24, and that the new ones will appeal to still younger fans.
“We think it will bring an even younger customer into the Mariah Carey franchise,” Ms. Dodge said. The Lollipop Bling line will be advertised in youth-oriented publications where ads for the celebrity’s fragrances had not previously appeared, like Seventeen and Teen Vogue. But Ms. Dodge emphasized that these “are not your typical teeny-bopper fragrances.”
