Reuters Blogs

Fan Fare

Entertainment behind the scenes

21:04 July 15th, 2008

Marilyn Monroe wins new praise — for selling fishing tackle

Posted by: Belinda Goldsmith
Tags: Fan Fare, , , , ,

marilyn.jpgHollywood legend Marilyn Monroe has been praised for many things over the years but here’s a first — the impact she had on the fishing tackle industry. Finland’s Rapala Group, which makes and sells fishing tackle, has inducted Monroe into its hall of fame as one of the influential people who assisted the company in its business.

The connection? The August 1962 issue of Life magazine bore a picture of the actress on its cover and carried a history of her life — with the same magazine carrying an article titled “A Lure Fish Can’t Pass Up” showcasing Lauri Rapala’s original floating fishing lure. This edition broke all circulation records.

“The article about Rapala lures in the 1962 issue of Life magazine created an unforeseeable chain of events for our company,” said Tom Mackin, president of Rapala USA, in a statement. “Marilyn Monroe’s presence in that issue should definitely be credited for dramatically launching the Rapala brand.”

He said the small, two-person U.S. company felt the impact of the article immediately and in no time had orders for three million lures. The thanks may be a bit late coming but add it to Monroes list of achievements. 

Post Your Comment

*
To prove you're a person (not a spam script), type the security word shown in the picture. Click on the picture to hear an audio file of the word.
Click to hear an audio file of the anti-spam word

House Rules:
  • We moderate all comments and will publish everything that advances the post directly or with relevant tangential information
  • We try not to publish comments that we think are offensive or appear to pass you off as another person, and we will be conservative if comments may be considered libelous information.