The Auction at Graceland•January 8, 2020
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 1/8/2020
Colonel Parker was the king of promotion for his number one client, the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, and never missed an opportunity to promote the Elvis brand. Colonel Parker was not without a plethora of brilliant marketing ideas to sell albums and promote his star. In 1971, Colonel tried a new gimmick for the release of The Other Sides - Worldwide Gold Award Hits Vol. 2. He gave fans a genuine piece of their idol in a fabric swatch from Elvis’ wardrobe as a bonus to be included with the album. This album was a treasure trove of trinkets for fans since the original boxed set of The Other Sides - Worldwide Gold Award Hits Vol. 2 included four records, a special bonus swatch of Elvis’ clothes, and a “special bonus number two” of a large full-color pullout portrait of Elvis. The Colonel wanted to be sure that his efforts reached the widest audience possible and therefore released a sales display and advertising kit to record retailers to make sure they had the tools to promote this release properly. Offered is one of those “Elvis Do-It-Yourself Local Advertising Kits” that was distributed to record retailers. The kit includes suggestions for headlines, ad layouts, dealer imprints, a perforated tear sheet of Elvis albums, and a sample fabric swatch of clothing in its original envelope. Everything a record store or dealer would need to successfully market this album’s release. The kit measures 11 by 8 1/2 inches (27.94 x 21.59 cm) folded and the two sections when laid flat measure 22 by 25 1/2 inches (55.88 x 64.77 cm) and 22 by 17 inches (55.88 x 43.18 cm). The envelope containing the fabric swatch measures 3 3/8 by 5 1/4 inches (8.57 x 13.33 cm). The kit is accompanied by a letter of authenticity from Graceland Authenticated.
The kit and swatch are in Near Mint or better condition, with only a few beginnings of separation of the perforated sections.