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ROUND this time last year, entertainment journalists across the world took great joy in writing about the bizarre $232 000 (R3-million) goodie bags being given out to stars attending the 2016 Academy Awards.

The swag bags, it was eagerly recounted, contained an array of attention-grabbing luxuries, including a female sex toy, deluxe Swiss toilet paper, a 10-day trip to Israel worth $55 000 and a voucher for a “vampire breast lift”, a horrific-sounding beauty treatment in which “rejuvenating” blood is injected into the recipient’s breasts. There were also some personalised M&Ms, reportedly worth $300 (we’re not sure exactly how many M&Ms that amounts to).

A few days on, however, journalists got to write even better headlines: “We’re not giving away free sex toys to Oscar nominees, says outraged Academy”.

Promotional materials for the bags used the Academy Awards trademark, but it was swiftly revealed to be an unofficial publicity stunt, carried out by a marketing company called Distinctive Assets.

The implied affiliation between the company and the Academy Awards was certainly successful in generating press, but the sensational nature of some of the products backfired upon Distinctive Assets, after the academy decided its image was under threat, and sued.

A swag bag might console those who don’t win an Oscar, but there’s no such thing as a free gift, writes

In fact, there’s actually no such thing as an official Academy Awards gift bag — and hasn’t been since 2006.

Before then, in a tradition that dates back to the 1970s, nominees would be presented with a selection of luxury products, including beauty treatments, holidays, jewellery and food items.

In 2004, the bags included a voucher for a luxury trip to Mexico — a freebie that some outlets have claimed was used by Gwyneth Paltrow for her honeymoon with Chris Martin.

But by 2006 the high financial value of the products featured had attracted the attention of the US’s Internal Revenue Service, who deemed the gifts taxable. The academy opted to discontinue the process.

“It seemed a little inappropriate to offer a gesture of thanks that then carried with it a [tax] obligation,” Leslie Unger, a spokeswoman for the academy, told CNN.

Luckily for Paltrow and other stars who may or may not have accepted the gifts in previous years, the IRS decided not to tax past nominees for bags given before 2005. Since 2006, however, the high value unofficial goodie bags still handed out by companies such as Distinctive Assets have been classed as taxable.

The company’s website seems to suggest the bags could end up in the hands of nominees such as Natalie Portman, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone this year.

Some celebrities may refuse to accept the gifts, or opt to donate them to charity — George Clooney auctioned his bag to support hurricane relief organisations in 2006 — but Fary has claimed that most stars do still accept his products.

“Only one person has ever refused to accept the bag, and that was Sandra Oh,” he told LA Weekly in 2014.

“Other celebs like Diane Keaton have sent lovely notes.”

Companies might be expected to pay through the nose to feature their products in bags that end up in the hands of the stars. — © The Daily Telegraph, London