Barbie Hearts Jonathan Adler
In honor of Barbie's 50th birthday celebration earlier this year, Mattel Inc. enlisted "Happy Chic" designer Jonathan Adler to outfit a 3,500-square-foot home overlooking the Pacific Ocean and create a real life Malibou Dream House, complete with a chandelier made out of blond hair. Several decorative objects from the project are now included in the 28-page Fall 2009 edition of Barbie Collector along with its traditional selection of collectible dolls and gifts. Barbie-themed items from the designer include hot pink lacquered bathroom pieces like the Silhouette Mirror ($295), Tissue Box ($38), Lotion ($24) and Tumbler ($18). Other home accessories include black, white and pink plate sets ($78 - $98) and storage canisters labeled "Glitter" ($135), "Eyelashes" ($120), "Peroxide" ($95), and "Dolls" ($28). Collectibles include the 2009 Holiday Barbie doll ($44.95) and Barbie as Aphrodite ($114.96). Shoppers are encouraged to purchase with the "Buy More, Save More" discount incentive of $10/$15/$20/ off $50/$75/$100+ orders. Orders can be made online, by phone, fax or mail. This isn't the first time the retailer has offered non-doll merchandise as last year's Holiday book featured handbags and jewelry.

Daily News Tests New Subscription Effort
In addition to mailing its standard "Preferred Subscriber Offer" voucher package, The Daily News recently experimented with a similar subscription appeal that promotes savings and expands sales copy. Both #10 packages read "Time-Sensitive Material Enclosed." The new effort includes a full-color insert titled "Saving money has never been easier." Several cover images offer recipients a sense of editorial scope and feature the likes of President Obama, actress Eva Langoria Parker, and New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter. This accompanies bullet points that detail what the newspaper has to offer, like Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of local and national news, award-winning sports reporting, and the NOW entertainment section. Both efforts present the hard offer of 20 weeks of seven day Daily News home delivery for $25. Fine print presents the offer after the initial introductory rate at $4.25 per week. The offer is only available in the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

Ashro Lifestyle Previews Fall
In addition to introducing its new fragrance aL, Ashro Lifestyle hit the mail to alert recipients to its upcoming Fall 2009 catalog. Ashro Lifestyle is part of the Swiss Colony family of brands; it targets African-American women with apparel and accessories. The interior of the selfmailer pictures the upcoming catalog with "Stepping out in style this Fall... is within reach." Select merchandise is presented, including Contrast Toe Boots ($69), the Alyssa Dress ($79) with removable control shaper, the Goddess Tote ($69) and Shoe ($69), along with the aL bottle and candle set ($39). aL is described as "intimate and unforgettable" and "an Ashro Lifestyle first!" A fragrance strip in the mailing allows the recipient to preview the scent. Like other Ashro efforts, it comes with credit pre-approval, a credit limit, account number and monthly installment amount.

The direct mail promotions appearing in Mail Stream are tracked and written up by ParadyszMatera, a media brokerage services company, through its MarketRelevance(tm) Promotion Library. Click here to visit their site: ParadyszMatera.com.