The Tom of Finland brand continues to expand far and wide from the artist's original vision.
I remember walking through Toys R Us as a kid where I saw a Superman car on the shelves. Wait: What? Superman didn’t have a car. But that never bothered marketers.
Tom of Finland Wines is a new label created “in tribute to the legacy and artwork of Tom of Finland,” according to company execs. The Finnish artist, whose birth name was Touko Laaksonen, died in 1991, and those who have licensed his name since his death to sell products ranging from tee shirts and small towels for after-sex clean-up are now pleased to announce their maiden voyage into wine distribution – a “2015 OUTstanding RED.”
According to press reports, the label was first successfully launched in Finland in 2016, paving the way for Tom of Finland Wines to make a US debut with its product available exclusively direct-to-consumer on the Tom of Finland website for $24 per bottle.
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The wines are bottled in partnership with the Tom of Finland Foundation, a non-profit started in 1984 by Laaksonen and partner Durk Dehner. Though the foundation’s original purpose was to preserve the vast catalog of Finland artwork, the foundation has clearly expanded its efforts and exists to “educate the public as to the cultural merits of erotic art and the promotion of healthier, more tolerant attitudes towards sexuality through experiential workshops, residencies and exhibitions.”
Terry Miller, an official spokesman for the venture, puts the project in this perspective: “Tom is about pleasure and enjoying life. A part of enjoying life involves indulging your sensual side and appreciating the finer things . . . self-expression, openness and freedom — that’s why wine is the perfect manifestation in honor of the legendary artist. As for the wine, OUTstanding RED is remarkably smooth, delicious and sexy. Tom of Finland’s work is the most recognizable and important gay iconography in the world, and it both warms and excites me to see it presented front and center on the bottle of OUTstanding RED.”
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