As Chuck Klosterman writes in his book [amazon-product text="IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas" type="text"]978-0743284899[/amazon-product], the phrase 'guilty pleasure' is culturally backwards. As he can take pride in his watching the Ashley Simpson Show, I can admit to the my audience that I've watched every episode of Jersey Shore. I was born in Boston and raised in Rhode Island; to be truthful, I could field a pretty decent cast for a new season. I must say, for the record, an article in CNN Money made me respect the entrepreneurial spirit of the cast of the Jersey Shore.
The Cast of the Jersey Shore
15 Minutes of Fame
The phrase "15 minutes of fame" doesn't quite fit in this situation - the cast gets 15 minutes every episode. An entire subculture is now devoted to heckling and parodying the show - see here and here. It's safe to say that the peak of their celebrity - although we don't know how long it will be - has started. It only makes sense for them to strike now and branch outwards. The article talks about diversification - since $180,000 per cast member per episode is a good start, but the potential earnings are much higher.
Mike S, who goes by the moniker "The Situation", is reportedly marketing a cologne that smells like money. I suppose if you wanted the money smell, you could buy the cologne in lieu of rubbing cash all over yourself. Regardless, I predict that it will sell to a certain corner of the scent market - go figure. Jwoww, Jenni Farley, has the right idea with her clothing line.
The best line of the article came near the end, however: "In other words: Buy stock." Yes, the cast enjoys their 15 minutes of fame now, but no one will buy 'The Sitch' money-scented cologne in 2015. Of course, I wish the Situation luck, and if it is still selling well, I'll buy it as a condition of me writing this article. Still, Mike (and the rest of the cast!), you've got to invest some of that cash into some proven assets - like stocks and bonds. I hope that their fame ends with them having plenty of money, and don't end up celebrities for a different reason - losing the money they had.
