Taking a page from the Who’s marketing manual (“How to Repackage Your Work in Hundreds of Ways to Squeeze Maximum Dollar from Consumers”), HBO has released “customized” DVDs of its wildly popular series Sex and the City. Described in the press release as “unique collections,” these are four Sex and the City Essentials DVDs available as a set for about $60 or individually for a suggested retail price of $14.98 each. (Why not make it an even $15?) Each disc has three episodes that revolve around a single theme: romance, Mr. Big, lust and breakups. Still, it might make for a good sampler gift to introduce oneself or a loved one to the series, which debuted on the cable network in June 1998 and ran until February 2004, for a total of 94 episodes. And because we’ve paid hand over fist for various iterations of material from the Who over the years, we have to at least tip our hat to HBO for this marketing tactic. Cynthia Rhea, svp and general manager for HBO Video, tells us, “We think there is a Sex and the City fan in everyone and repackaging this great show into themed collections gives fans a chance to own their favorite episodes in a new way.”

—Posted by Kathleen Sampey