The Big Reveal: Here's What's Inside The Oscars Gift Bag For Nominees

The week kick-started with the most awaited event of the year, the Oscars. Two days later, the Academy Awards fever is still here, thanks to India’s big wins this year. Naatu Naatu from the movie RRR became the first song from an Indian film to get home the coveted Best Original Song award. On the other hand, The Elephant Whisperers helmed by Kartiki Gonsalves and produced by Guneet Monga scripted history by winning the Best Documentary Short Subject this year, again a first for India.

It was a big night for all the winners who went home with the golden Oscars trophy. However, the others did not go away empty handed from the awards. Oscar nominees in the four main acting categories – Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress – as well as the Best Director nominees went home with a luxury gift bag from a Los Angeles based marketing company, Distinctive Assets. The agency has been distributing these gift bags to Oscars nominees unofficially every year since 2002.

Founder of the marketing firm, Lash Fary, speaking about the motive behind giving away these gift bags in an interview said, “We asked ourselves, ‘How can we be a part of this without doing something with the Academy?’ So we came up with this idea of gifting the top nominees." “That way, if they lost, they got this awesome consolation prize. And if they win, they get this as icing on the cake,” added Fary.

Who Gets The Oscars Gift Bag?

The gift bag is titled 'Everyone Wins'. However, only the top nominees get this luxury gift bag. This year 26 nominees bagged these.

This year, the following celebrities received the luxury gift bags:

• Jimmy Kimmel (Host)
• Martin McDonagh (Best director nominee)
• Dan Kwan & Daniel Scheinert (Best director nominee)
• Steven Spielberg (Best director nominee)
• Todd Field (Best director nominee)
• Ruben Östlund (Best director nominee)
• Austin Butler (Best actor nominee)
• Colin Farrell (Best actor nominee)
• Brendan Fraser (Best actor nominee)
• Paul Mescal (Best actor nominee)
• Bill Nighy (Best actor nominee)
• Cate Blanchett (Best actress nominee)
• Ana De Armas (Best actress nominee)
• Andrea Riseborough (Best actress nominee)
• Michelle Williams (Best actress nominee)
• Michelle Yeoh (Best actress nominee)
• Brendan Gleeson (Best supporting actor nominee)
• Brian Tyree Henry (Best supporting actor nominee)
• Judd Hirsch (Best supporting actor nominee)
• Barry Keoghan (Best supporting actor nominee)
• Key Huy Quan (Best supporting actor nominee)
• Angela Bassett (Best supporting actress nominee)
• Hong Chau (Best supporting actress nominee)
• Kerry Condon (Best supporting actress nominee)
• Jamie Lee Curtis (Best supporting actress nominee)
• Stephanie Hsu (Best supporting actress nominee)

Inside The Oscars Gift Bag

Image Courtesy: Dawn.com

The bag reportedly has gifts worth ₹1 Crore and includes the following -

• Anti ageing products
• Travel neck pillow from PETA urging to stop monkey imports to labs
• Fancy chocolate boxes from cacao
• Personalised video
• Gourmet dates from Bateel
• Bottle of c60 Sexy edible massage oil
• A "mental health orb" from Reflect that helps regulate stress
• Bottle of coconut water
• Getaway to the Canadian estate
• Loaf of Japanese milk bread from Ginza Nishikawa

• Pack of Clif Thins
• Trip to an Italian island
• Gold bracelet
• At-home health testing
• Carry on luggage from Havaianas
• A Book For Life by Jo Bowlby
• A plot of land in Australia through the Pieces of Australia conservation project
• A bag of chocolate covered pretzels
• Shinery Radiance Wash, a hand soap that made Oprah's Favorite Things list
• $25,000 worth of project management fees for home restoration from Maison Construction. The winners also have an option of cash in if they wish to do their home themselves
• Rejuvenation procedures Dr. Thomas Su’s Art Lipo arm sculpting and Dr. Alan Bauman’s hair restoration services

What's So Special About This Gift Bag?

The Oscars gift bag for the nominees is thoughtfully curated. 50 percent of the brands featured in the bag are run by women and minorities. The marketing company's idea of bringing different brands together in one hamper is putting diverse brands to the spotlight.

There has been a lot of debate around the bag giving free vacays to the celebrities. Many questioned why give away exotic vacays to public figures who can easily afford it. Founder of the marketing agency, Lash Fary in an interview explained, “It’s not about the fact that this is free. It's about the fact that we've found a unique place that has built-in privacy for a celebrity. I mean, it's a hillside lighthouse on an island off the coast of Italy—it’s very private.”

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How Do The Winners Get Their Gift Bag?

The winners don't have to collect the gift bags from the event. These gifts are delivered to them at their doorstep. Since the gifts aren't official, nominees can opt out of receiving these gifts by the agency. A lot of celebrities in the past declined these gifts due to tax reasons reportedly.