2000 Looks Smashing, Baby

The end of the year means chucking out the old calendars and bringing in the new. So as Titanic-themed calendars sink out of sight, Austin Powers calendars begin replacing them on walls and desktops. And, as the end of the 20th century approaches, more serious themes have emerged as well.

“There’s more nostalgia selling this year than ever before, probably because of the millennium,” said Christine Brown, director of communications for At-a-Glance, the world’s leading manufacturer of calendars. “The same is true for the emotional and inspirational.”

Each year, a few hundred calendars are aimed at mass-market audiences, though thousands more target buyers with more specialized interests, said Richard Mikes, executive director of the Calendar Marketing Assn.

“So much of calendars is steady--like scenery, animals, flowers,” he said. “But if you take whatever is popular right now in the media, there’s a calendar about it--’Star Wars,’ Ricky Martin.”

For New York-based At-a-Glance, animal calendars have always outsold any other single category, accounting for 25% of sales each year.

But next year’s trends also include introspective themes such as biblical psalms and “Retro Fads,” a collection of nostalgia-inducing black-and-white photographs.

At-a-Glance, which produces calendars with 400 different themes, expects other top choices this year to be Austin Powers, Tarzan, the Three Stooges, ESPN, cat lovers, Bible verses and the Beatles, to name a few.

Of course, Brown said, calendars featuring swimsuit models such as Heidi Klum and Carmen Electra fly out of stores no matter what the year.

Other manufacturers report similar trends.

“Inspirational is very big with us, too,” said Chuck Lejsek, chief operating officer of San Rafael-based Cedco Publishing, which has 200 calendar themes on the market. “We’ve seen a significant growth in that over the years. You can speculate why.”

Among its bestsellers so far are “Conversations With God” and calendars based on pop-culture characters such as Buffy (the “Vampire Slayer”) and Ally McBeal. Nostalgic figures such as Marilyn Monroe are also among its top sellers.

Traditionally, calendars begin selling around September as kids return to school, says Brown. But the most active months are November, December and January.

Manufacturers anticipate that many calendars will be bought as year-2000 collectibles.

Brown estimates that 80% of calendars are bought by women. In most households, she explains, women are the primary shoppers and decorators.