Crikey! here’s a little beauty…how long after his death can Steve Irwin’s estate still make money out of a crappy franchise?

27.04.10 Crikey! heres a little beauty...how long after his death can Steve Irwins estate still make money out of a crappy franchise?

i spotted this at a local shopping center today and it blew me away – for lots of reasons….

1) steve irwin was never loved in Australia as much as he was loved in usa, aussies found him to be a little bit ‘too full-on’ over here – much more suited to the american market, though i never much doubted that how he came across on tv, was actually more than probably the way he was in real life…

2) i find it incredible that he/they have made such a commodity out of bindi irwin and bob irwin- with the amount of money that steve and terri irwin made, i’m sure it was not necessary to make a circus out of the kids as well;

3) years after his death, i found it strange to have a dead fibreglass steve riding shotgun with a comic-book crocodile in my local shopping centre (that’s what we call a shopping mall, for all you yanks).

4) i just found it a little bit perverse and disrespectful, part of an international marketing and brand-identity campaign. rather an effort to remember the guy for how much money he can make for the company in the future, as opposed too just remembering and respecting the guy for what he was while still alive… i suppose he just sold himself off and was happy with that deal…

though i never met the guy, i would guess that he would have been happy with the decision to set his family up. but how much money is enough money. i reckon the irwin’s have plenty to last the next 2 generations. seems to me that they are cheapening his name for a quick, cheap and easy buck.

To get more of an idea of who he was (apart from a born showman), check these vids out. the guy was out of control…

2003 interview with andrew denton – the australian equivalent of michael parkinson:

1 of 5: