Bland in Boston

If the Democratic National Convention is supposed to give 30,000 delegates, media and assorted dignitaries a new image of Boston, it isn't in the bags.

The red, white, and blue canvas totes, courtesy of Boston sneaker maker New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc., are filled with ho-hum freebies: razors from Gillette Co., subway maps from CVS Corp., Kraft Macaroni & Cheese in the shape of donkeys, Ocean Spray Craisins and juice, among other things.

''What does Craisins or mac and cheese say?" said Evangelia D. Souris, president of Boston image-consulting firm Optimum International Center for Image Management. ''These are not things that will move people."

Indeed, the bag is more likely to be remembered for practicality than pizzazz. But isn't that old Boston? Sensible, utilitarian, historical -- the very image the Boston 2004 host committee has said it wants to shake up.

''With all due respect to the image consultants, it's just a gift bag," said Julie Burns, the host committee's executive director.

Delegates are still talking about Converse Inc.'s contribution to the 1988 Democratic convention: Each Massachusetts delegate got a pair of red high-top sneakers emblazoned with ''Duke '88" in honor of then-presidential nominee Michael Dukakis.

What happened to the sneaker maker this year?

''I don't anticipate that Converse, under the new ownership, would have an interest in supporting such efforts as it's outside our current areas of focus," said Chris Doyle, spokesman for North Andover sneaker maker Converse, which Nike Inc. bought in 2003.

Not that this year's convention committee didn't have choices. It still fields about 10 calls a day from companies wanting to get in the bag.

For those still trying, it's too late. The bags are being stuffed this week at Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries job-training center in Salem, and today, UPS will start shipping to more than 125 pallets weighing 1,000 pounds each.

There were rules to get in: no paper and nothing blatantly partisan. It also helped to be a contributor. Gillette gave $1 million in cash to the host committee, while New Balance gave $750,000. Ocean Spray Inc. is providing drinks for parties; Dunkin' Donuts is the official coffee of the convention; and its parent company, Allied Domecq, is supplying the liquor.

Companies began lobbying to get in the Boston gift bags months ago.

New Balance was among the first to commit, spending $250,000 on top of its cash contribution to make the 30,000 canvas bags bearing the company's logo and the host committee's logo -- ''Boston 2004: Nothing conventional about it."

As a testament to the marketing prowess of the convention gift bags, New Balance is also providing bags for the Republican National Convention in New York next month.

But the Republicans will be getting a different accoutrement: a fashionable, black messenger bag that slides across the shoulder.

''It's very New York," explained Katherine L. Shepard, a New Balance spokeswoman. ''The tote is more New England."

CVS began working on its subway maps -- with the locations of the pharmacy chain's Boston stores clearly marked -- nearly a year ago. Proving that every rule has an exception, the host committee allowed one piece of paper: a CVS coupon for five free digital prints.

To avoid any gift-bag infighting, the committee respectfully declined to seek donations from rivals of those already in the bag. So there are no Starbucks coupons nestled next to the Dunkin' Donuts brick of ground coffee beans, no Reebok sneakers inside the New Balance bag, no Nantucket Nectars to rival Ocean Spray's newly introduced Juice & Tea drink.

Burns, of the host committee, stands by the bag. The committee strove for pragmatism, she said: maps to navigate the city; snacks and drinks to consume in the midst of a hectic day, and a Crane's pad to jot notes.

The group also wanted to include some memorabilia: a book of essays about Boston called ''The Good City" and a book of John F. Kennedy photos and quotations.

''As long as the delegates enjoy the bag and hang onto to some of the stuff as a keepsake, that's our main goal," Burns said.

Nonetheless, Ginger Burr, president of Somerville firm Total Image Consultants, would have liked more humor, beauty, and Boston reflected in the bag's contents. Why not make fun of ourselves a bit and put in something about the Big Dig? Or how about slippers with lobsters on them?

''It's a nice bag," Burr said. ''There's nothing wrong with it. But if someone were to hand me that bag and ask me what city it's from, I wouldn't have a clue."

The bag might not wow people, but an informal poll of past and present delegates suggests it hits the mark on practicality.

Plus, they said, the books are a nice touch.

''It sounds sort of fine," said Thaleia Schlesinger, a three-time Democratic delegate and twin sister of the late Democratic presidential candidate and Senator Paul Tsongas. ''All of it sounds like something you could really use. Now and later."

And if you're looking for better bags? The Charles Hotel is giving its convention guests (that's where the Clintons are staying) his and her J. Crew polo shirts, orange Metal Ion Cross pens, a book called ''Primarily New Hampshire," and a sweet treat from Henrietta's Table chef Peter Davis.

Chic Back Bay retailer Louis Boston is not only giving attendees the Red Hot Chili Peppers concert at its $1,000-a-ticket fund-raiser but also a veritable who's who of haute couture tucked inside a black Puma bag: a Marni metal-and-leather key chain, Massimo Bizzocchi commemorative silk tie, Luciano Barbera wool scarf, Mario Russo beauty products, and a Belvest diary of the finest cloth.

Now that's a gift bag.

Naomi Aoki can be reached at naoki@globe.com.