Does Emeril always kick products up a notch?

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Emeril Lagasse's touch does not always "bam!" up an associated product. Waterford Crystal is having a tough time in sales lately, despite co-branding with such luminaries as clothing designers Vera Wang and Jasper Conran, artist Andy Warhol (isn't he long dead? yes, 1987, in fact) and -- chef Emeril (see Ireland's Waterford News and Stars with June 25 article "Crystal sales took a tumble "). Looking at this line-up of celebrity names (which are too hard to find or not listed on the Waterford Crystal website), it seems fairly clear that Waterford's celebrity branding is too diverse and thus (if I may) too "watered down" to make real impact. With this admittedly cursory glance, it seems that Waterford needs either more celebrities to cover more lifestyles or more carefully chosen celebrities who better fit their brand. Crest (Procter & Gamble), on the other hand, launched three new "exotic" toothpaste flavors in September 2003 for its "Whitening Expressions" formula: Cinnamon Rush, Fresh Citrus Breeze, and Extreme Herbal Mint. And Crest uses Emeril as their celebrity for branding. It seems that Crest is trying to ride the wave created by such products as Tom's All Natural Toothpastes, sold by Trader Joe's. Beth Marshal, a spokeswoman for Procter & Gamble, said recently, "Crest Whitening Expressions is very quickly becoming our most popular line since its launch in September [2003]," in a $3.7 billion oral hygiene market. About the same time, Apprentice 2 applicants were spotted in Washington Park, NYC, hawking yet another flavor, "Refreshing Vanilla Mint". In its October 27, 2003, article "Spice For Your Smile ," Forbes reported about the same time that P&G had spent some $80 million for to market this new line. The move was big enough to merit a few seconds' mention on CNN. Is Emeril successful as a salesman? You bet he is. He is hawking food products, cookware, cookbooks, and other products right on his own website. He sells because people know him, the star of the Food Network. Emeril's own biography defines him as "Chef, Restaurateur, Television Personality and Author" -- I agree but would list him as "TV Personality; Chef, Author, and Restaurateur." It seems that P&G agrees: "Emeril's not so much about food as about kicking it up a notch," oral care PR wizard Bryan McCleary told Forbes from P&G. Colgate reigns supreme with 34% of the $1.3 billion retail toothpaste market, Forbes explained; P&G wants to eat up the five percent difference between them. Is Emeril a "super chef"? As I define the term in the Introduction to Super Chef (also online Fast Company), he most certainly is. Geographically, Emeril is emerging as King of the South, just as Wolfgang Puck reigns in the West, while a number of chefs vie constantly for king of the world's restaurant capital, New York City. In terms of product endorsements, he and Wolf are also vying neck-and-neck: both on the Food Network, both with restaurants, cookbooks, food products, cookware, you name it. For instance, Wolfgang is on the cover of the June 2004 catalog for Chefwear. Both have graced the cover of Wine Spectator in the past 12 months (Puck in September 2003, Lagasse in August 2004). Super Chef examines Puck's non-restaurant empire extensively; I compare Puck and Lagasse (specifically on p. 35). To see who emerges as top super chef, we must wait to see who lasts the longest and amasses the most territory without self-destructing in the process. When it comes to staying power, Wolf has over two decades under his belt, while Emeril is hardly through his first since the success of "Emeril Live." On the other hand, Emeril came onto radar with ready-made, "trademark" lines pouring out of his mouth like "Bam!" and "Kick it up a notch!" and "Pork fat rules!" while Wolfgang has had to work hard to find "Live, Love, Eat!" In fact, Emeril made it big not as a fine chef but as a reachable man of the people, who likes to cook and who can barely pronounce French cooking terms correctly (unless that's an act). Both super chefs risk overexposure as they climb new heights: only time will tell.