Shares of a Vancouver-based athletic clothing store jumped more than five per cent to close at a record high Monday after its popular yoga-inspired pants were given a nod by the queen of daytime television.

Oprah featured Lululemon Athletica's $98 relaxed fit pants on her annual "Favourite Things" episode, which aired on Friday across North America.

Calling the $98 four-way stretch pants "terrific," Winfrey said the pants are universally flattering.

"I've got to tell you," she told the audience, "anything that cuts your butt in half should be your favourite thing too!"

Simon Fraser University marketing expert Lindsay Meredith said the shout out will likely equate to a hefty future increase in sales and stock prices, saying the Oprah Winfrey team is a powerful marketing ally.

"A positive mention on Oprah is a golden handshake," he told ctvbc.ca in a telephone interview. "She truly has goddess status."

Meredith said her endorsement is extra special because of her clout with millions of American women.

"It welds the Oprah brand to the Lulu brand and some of those American audiences. Her audience really hangs on her word."

Lululemon finished up $2.61 on the Toronto Stock Exchange and up 5.24 per cent on the Nasdaq, at $53.25.

California-based Capstone Investments increased its profit expectations for the company on the heels of the announcement.

"Women all over the country heard,'" analyst Claire Gallacher wrote in a memo on its website.

The company, founded by Chip Wilson, only has 75 stores in the U.S. It went public in July 2007.

Coffee touched by an angel

Meanwhile, an East Vancouver fair trade coffee company has also been touched by "The Oprah Effect."

Ethical Bean's organic medium roast blend made the Holiday O list in the December issue of Winfrey's magazine.

Columnist Martha Beck praised the $12, 12-ounce bag for its social responsibility.

"I believe in the mystical powers of a slug of caffeine dressed in heaps of fat and sugar. And in 100-per-cent fair trade, organic products," she wrote.

"With Ethical Bean, I can send coffee lovers bags of medium or dark roast that taste good and do good."

Co-founder Lloyd Bernhardt said the company is thrilled to be the only Canadian company in the highly-influential magazine.

"I like to think that Ethical Bean's commitment to quality, fairness, transparency and being very involved in the communities that we buy and sell into had something to do with us being chosen."

The company plans to donate part of its proceeds in December to its Guatamalan Scholarship fund, which helps children in Guatemala with funding for school.

The remainder of funds raised that month will be donated to Project Somos Children's Village, a Vancouver-based charity that provides shelter and support for orphaned children in Guatemala.

Meredith says the power of a celebrity endorsement in media stories or articles, what he calls the "editorial script," are normally much more powerful than paid advertising.

"It cuts through the clutter and consumers really latch onto that," he said. "And it's free, which is a big, big bonus.