Tru Blood, The Beverage

Perhaps the last entertainment vehicle you’d imagine extending into retail beverages would be vampire-themed True Blood. That’s not stopping Omni Consumer Products – who achieved a modicum of fame by bringing the world Sex Panther Cologne, based on the movie Anchorman. Coming to your grocer’s in time for Halloween is a carbonated drink called Tru Blood, whose name derives from an elixir drunk on the show when human blood isn’t readily available.

Cleverly labeled with blood type (O positive) and flavor (blood orange), and beautifully packaged in shades of crimson, the drink is meant to be more than a novelty. A New York magazine taste-test gave it a thumbs-up: “Compared to most soft drinks, it's refreshing and not too sweet. It also foams just like real blood.” At $4 for a four-pack, we’ll see whether the public’s thirst will accept no substitutes.