Garbage from T-Post

T-Post have been mentioned a couple of times on this blog. In fact, I think that they were even kind enough to send me a t-shirt one time. They are a t-shirt store with a difference. They say they are a magazine in a shirt but I won’t get into that again and you buy the tees on subscription.

One of the cool things about T-Post is that the magazine articles often discuss politically relevant contemporary issues so you can appear smart while also looking smart in your cool new t-shirt. I’m telling you about this particular t-shirt because of the story so it is also a pretty cool marketing strategy on their behalf.

This tee is about Karen Herzog, a lady who was fined for her efforts to protect the environment. Read more at T-Post.

Kim Jong Il has a licence to kill

Living in Japan I am very familiar with the threat from Kim Jong Il. I think that the Japanese press and politicians can be a bit hysterical about the whole issue because it is very unlikely that Kim Jong Il is the lunatic that he is portrayed as. I mean, he has controlled a whole country with an iron fist forcing people to live in abject poverty while he himself lives like a king. I’d say he’s a genius. A despicable man but a genius nonetheless. I don’t think we need to worry about war this time either as old Kim Jong Il is just flexing his military muscle. There would be no positive outcome from a war. Well, apart from Kim Jong Il and his cronies being removed from power and the country being opened up.

Anyways, above is a pretty cool tee from Crooked Monkey. There is not much design to it just Kim’s photo and some text but I think that is the beauty of it and helps give it a retro vibe.

Its a parody of both Kim Jong Il and the Beastie Boy’s debut album, Licensed to Ill.

T-Shirts are a Big Fucking Deal

T-Shirt vendors have been making money from slips of the tongue of politicians since I before I was born but with the advent of PODs like Cafepress and Zazzle it really took off. The risk is small. Basically all you risk is wasting time and I have wasted time on some designs. You don’t know that when you are designing them though, you always think that this design could be the next big money maker. Anyway, I digress. What  I really wanted to talk about is how the world is realizing that there is money in t-shirts and if this example I am about to show you doesn’t convince you I don’t know what will.

I’m sure you remember but just in case I will remind you. Not that long ago when the Health Bill passed in the US Joe Biden in his excitement dropped the f-bomb. Yes, he said fuck. Actually he said “this is a big fucking deal” while his mic was still on. As you can imagine t-shirts sprang up pretty quickly and I am sure some money was made.

But the surprising thing for me was that Barack Obama himself wanted in on the action and the above t-shirt went on sale in this official store. If the staff of the President of the United States of America spends some time to get these t-shirts printed there must be a lot of money to be made. Right?

Step Outside Posh Boy!

During the US elections there were many stories of people getting sent home from school for wearing political t-shirts but I didn’t really expect to see it happening in the UK. But then again they are having US style political debates so they might as well add some US style ridiculousness to the mix. One teenager was sent home from school for wearing a t-shirt with this poster printed on it.

You can read more details at the Guardian who surprisingly enough are the ones selling the t-shirts (through Spreadshirt) that caused the issue. The tees are a bit crap and they made me think two things. I should be making British political tees are there is apparently a market for them and the Guardian must be struggling if they have to supplement their income peddling tees through Spreadshirt.

You can check out the offending tee and this much better Reservoir Dogs parody tee below at Spreadshirt.

It’s genius on the part of the Guardian if you think about it for a second. They created the t-shirt that caused the issue and then they had something to write about in their paper. Awesome.

Poll: Should Zazzle censor Obama Psalm 109:8 T-Shirt

Zazzle have just announced they won’t be allowing users to sell goods connecting President Barack Obama to Psalm 109:8. Here is an excerpt from their announcement:

after great thought that we have determined that these products, in the context of the full text of Psalm 109, may be interpreted in such a way as to suggest physical harm to the President of the United States. In deference to the Office of the President of the United States, and in accordance with federal law prohibiting the making of threats against the physical wellbeing of the President of the United States, Zazzle has therefore determined that these products are in violation of the Zazzle User Agreement and not appropriate for inclusion in the Zazzle Marketplace. We have begun efforts to remove them from our website, and we will be vigilant to the publication of similar products moving forward.

What do you think?

Obamao T-Shirts Banned in China

Chinese t-shirt designer created a Obama t-shirt that combined the face of President Barack

Obama with the uniform and classic image of Chairman Mao but when Obama went to China the Chinese authorities shut it down. Some say that they didn’t want Obama depicted as a Communist. (I’m sure FOX News are having a field day with it. The may also be happy about their president’s effigy being burned.)

I have a feeling that Obama wouldn’t mind and would be more pissed off by the fact that there are serious freedom of speech issues in China that selling tees with his mug on them.

Retro Campaigns goes Vintage

It’s been a while since I featured Retro Campaigns on the T-Shirt Review but they have just released three new tees and they are doozies. They have broken away from their original style and brought some nice vintage style designs to the field and these designs are complimented by their choice of shirts. For the latest shirts they are using Alternative Apparel’s destroyed tees. They just ooze vintage chic. Check out the closeup below.

The tees at Retro Campaigns are political and they even provide a lot of background information about the featured politicians but these tees can be worn by anyone. It doesn’t matter if you are Republican, Democrat, Communist, Socialist or independant…

In fact for the new tees I suspect that most people won’t even check what’s printed on them. They will just ask where can I get me one of them there shirts. And the answer is: at Retro Campaigns – the coolest political tee store on the web and quite possibly the planet.

See previous posts (one, two and three) for more information about Retro Campaigns.

T-Shirt Hell: Political Again

During the American presidential election of 2008 I told you about T-Shirt Hell’s political t-shirts. Well, it seems they are dipping their toes in that area again with a pretty funny stab at the democrats. I think the democrats would not only enjoy this tee too though but they may agree with the sentiments.

Review: Rolling Stone Obama T-Shirt

Back in January I mentioned that Cafepress in collaboration with Rolling Stone were selling a limited edition Barack Obama inauguration t-shirt. These t-shirts are not the regular Cafepress t-shirts but rather a special fulfilment item for Rolling Stone. They were heavily promoted for a while and of course they are pretty cool. I decided to order a couple,  one for the Mrs. and one for me.

They arrived a while ago but I haven’t had time to post about them until now. To be honest I should be spending this evening doing something else as tonight is a deadline for some web design I am doing and tomorrow is a deadline some writing I have to do so I’ll keep it brief.

The shirts are a very light material and actually look just as they do in the promotion pictures on the Cafepress web site. The color of the t-shirt is perfect and just the type of thing that I like to wear. My wife was also happy with the t-shirt and its fit. We were so impressed with them actually that we were going to buy another couple to keep for when these wear out but when I went back to check they were no longer for sale. Well, they did say limited edition. The only criticism I have about the t-shirts is the big double logo of Rock the Vote and Cafepress on the back. Still, that won’t stop me from wearing it.

44 Cent Obama T-Shirt – True

In celebration of the inauguration of Barack Obama, Vintage Cotton is selling a t-shirt for just 44 cents. For those who don’t know the significance of the price, Barack Obama will be the 44th President of the United States of America. The t-shirt is nothing special but it is very wearable. They are limited to one per customer.

Next Page »