The marketing of Marilyn Monroe

Since PS Resorts unveiled the 26-foot Forever Marilyn on Tahquitz Canyon Way and Palm Canyon Drive in late May, local businesses are capitalizing on it, pushing Monroe memorabilia and pictures in their windows.

On a drive up Palm Canyon or even along Highway 111, plenty of Monroe pictures and trinkets are visible along the way.

Mr. G's for Kids has a display in its window of Monroe pictures, figurines, lunch boxes and other finds.

The Palm Canyon Drive store has been selling much more Monroe souvenirs in the last month than before the statue arrived, said general manager Maite Munoz.

We put a lot more of the toys in the window, she said. It's been selling significantly more, and some people are buying multiple items.

Lindsey Jacobs, owner of Art Works Gallery and Framing in Palm Desert, is also riding the trend. She has three large Monroe pictures in her windows.

The statue has created an interest. And with renewed interest, I decided to display them formally, she said.

She compared Monroe's image to that of Elvis Presley.

Marilyn Monroe interest will never die, she said. Both Marilyn and Elvis had suspicious deaths, so there's a fascination with them.

A massive Monroe print was also erected in May at Heather James Fine Art gallery in Palm Desert.

It was placed to promote the release of Heather James artist Larry Schiller's new book, Marilyn and Me, according to James Corona, the gallery's owner.

Beyond Palm Springs, renewed interest in Monroe has swept the country this year with the release of My Weekend with Marilyn starring Michelle Williams and the 50th anniversary of her death, which is coming up on Aug. 5.

The statue is part of the reason Palm Springs has seen more tourists this year compared to last year's statistics, said Aftab Dada, PS Resorts chairman.

The goal was to not only bring people in from out of state, but to bring people from all over the valley, he said. And it worked. Just look at the numbers.

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Coachella Valley hotel occupancy was up 6.9 percent in June compared to June 2011, according to Smith Travel Research.

While businesses are making the most of the statue, tourists are flocking to it, even in extreme heat.

Cathy Cunningham of Mission Viejo took her 11-year-old daughter, Aspen, and some Girl Scouts to see the statue Tuesday despite the 108-degree temperatures.

The Girl Scouts stood between Monroe's towering legs and took pictures.

Though it's a fad, it's fun and nice to see, Cunningham said.

Terrilynn Mendoza, 44, of Mission Viejo said people are strongly recommending checking out the statue while visiting Palm Springs.

It's the first thing they told us to do when we left the hotel this morning, she said.

Gary Dorothy, artist and Imageville owner, has a picture of the Monroe statue when it was in Chicago displayed in his shop's window. Though he had it there before the statue moved to Palm Springs, he said tourists love it.

It's fun to see how people respond to it with the statue here now, he said. There's such a happiness.

PS Resorts paid $78,000 to bring the 34,300-pound sculpture to Palm Springs from Chicago. They have a contract to keep the statue until June 2013.

Munoz and Jacobs said once the contract is up, they'll start looking at other ways to promote their businesses.

When the statue goes, we'll move the stuff back in, Munoz said.

Chris Grillot is a reporter for The Desert Sun. Reach him at (760) 778-4724 or chris.grillot@thedesertsun.com.