T-shirt logos
Would you be caught dead wearing one of these 'D from A' T-shirts?
Name the best & worst
I own a lot of T-shirts (about 60). In my line of business I don’t have much call to wear normal shirts with collars (except for polo Ts), so I’ve accumulated quite a few but let me tell you something:
Not one of my T-shirts has a logo on it!
In fact I hate logos on my clothing and I refuse to buy anything that is either an advertisement for some product, band, event or cause, or (worse still) that carries some smart arse comment like “Chill out dudes”. Well, there are some that carry a small logo of the maker’s brand like Diadora, Country Road and, er, Golden Breed (yes, they still make them!) but that’s hardly the same.
But Dave from Albury only has T-shirts that carry logos and for the past week or so has been ‘proudly’ displaying them in his rather sad guess-what-my-T-shirt-stands-for competition. I don’t know what’s sadder, the fact that Dave wears these things or that he’s only got 19 T-shirts? I mean, “for the ladies”? Oh my God, is that false advertising or what?
And I’ve got a theory about this apparent obsession some people have for turning themselves into walking billboards. I reckon it’s designed to divert attention away from the wearer’s self doubts and inadequacies. Whereas those with higher self esteem simply don’t need to deflect away from what’s underneath the $20 piece of cotton (or, in Dave’s case, the $7 piece of cotton).
But that’s just my ‘humble’ opinion, and of course I might be wrong (well, it has to happen some day).
Anyway, the point of this post is not to denigrate Dave from Albury (that’s just a side benefit), it’s to ask the question: What is the best (or worst) T-shirt logo you have ever seen? Here are some examples:
Best category:
- “Tell someone who cares”
- “The dingo is innocent”
- “You’re ugly“
Worst category:
- “Bright Rod Run 1993″ (when it’s worn in 2008)
- “Kevin 07″ (I mean, how daggy was that?)
- “Shit happens”
- Any logo that includes one of those stupid smiley faces
But I’m sure there are better and worse ones than those.
Contact: ray@grevilleagardens.com
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Poor Raymond, displaying once more his lack of kulcha. ‘For the ladies’ was a release by the Australian musical troupe Machine Gun Fellatio, or MGF as they were often known on radio stations with impotence commercials.
Branding is all around us, it’s part advocacy, part tribalism, part identity. You might think that a 15 year old Rod Run shirt is stupid, but the wearer is showing that he has a long connection with the event.
Do you own any St Kilda paraphernalia? Have any art prints or photos in your home? Keep books you’ve read after finishing with them? All of these things are the way we build up messages about ourselves to others, it’s very complex communication and wearing branded clothing is just another part of it.
Ah ha, a spirited defence of T-shirt logos!
Yes I own a St Kilda T-shirt (forgot about that one) but that’s different Dave – that’s ‘tribalism’ that means something. Even so, I can’t remember when I last wore it.
My point (or take) on this is: It’s a matter of taste.
As for “Machine Gun Fellatio”, er, who? They’re a band huh? Of er, guys huh? See what I mean about taste?
I’m even more ‘old-school’ than Ray and, like him, I’m not paying good money to advertise some self opinionated company or their products. If they want me to wear their advertising, they can pay me.
Notwithstanding that I have been seen wearing an Australian made Sophie Mirabella T-shirt (which she gave me along with a Sophie cap to wear whilst I handed out her how-to-vote cards), I think NOT wearing advertising tells more about an individual than wearing branded clothing. I do not like being branded as a ‘follower’ of fashion.
I have been seen wearing an Australian made Sophie Mirabella T-shirt
That’s even worse than “Kevin 07″, Greg. But I sort of agree that “NOT wearing advertising tells more about an individual than wearing branded clothing” in that it tells you (a) the person has enough good taste to avoid the logo clothing and (b) the person does not feel as much need to explain his or her self to others or elevate their status by aligning with so-called ‘cool’ dudes and/or symbols.
Dare you to wear that at the next bloggers meet, Greg, and I’ll bring a texta to help improve her looks.
I bet it’s a photo of a much younger Sophie – pre the ‘Mirabella’ phase.
Hey, come to think of it, Dave’s ‘for the ladies’ T-shirt above looks a lot like Sophie too. Hmm, he’s been caught out as a closet Sophie supporter.
JR: You’re on! I will treasure any artwork or JR logos you care to add
I’m off to Albury today, pretty exciting as it has traffic lights. Seriously considering getting a T-shirt printed with “Bev Marks is un-Australian”.
Baldrick, what’s Bev done to you? I always thought that shop looked a little sus. Enlighten me.
Greg, consider yourself the owner of a brand new 09 Chryslers on the Murray TShirt, with my compliments. I’ll deliver it.
Excuse my ignorance chaps, but who, or what, the hell is Bev Marks?
Furniture store chain with a franchise in Wodonga.
Ah yes, yes, the one that ‘Ding Dong’ Denise Drysdale advertises on local TV. What does she say, “we all know the world is going through crazy times right now but …”? Yeah, their furniture looks very ‘UnAustralian’, but Denise’s tits are not.
Come off it, Ray, Ding Dong would trip up if they were not supported.
Jr, Ding Dong says “Australian” no fewer than 13 times throughout that commercial. One of the most shameless grabs at emotional appeal to flog a product I’ve ever seen. And here I may have inadvertantly started another thread. I’ll get my hat.
No, no you’re on topic Baldrick. I want to see Ding Dong in a T-shirt with a logo right across those breasts that says, “These are Australian Tits, grab ‘em” (you’d break your neck trying to read it).
Baldrick, I just saw the Ding Dong Bev Marks ad on Ch 10 and you’re right – “I care about Australia, Bev Marks is Australian, make sure you buy Australian products from Bev Marks Australia.” That’s 4 in just one short sentence.
I hadn’t noticed that before, even though I reckon I’ve seen the add 20 times. I guess I was distracted by something.
Anyway, I’d like a full transcript of that ad.
I’ve got a confession to make. Both my wife and I automatically hit the mute button on the remote, the instant we smell a commercial break.
And I’m like Ray. The amount of times I have heard the sound track, I haven’t noticed.
Crikey! Obviously numbed commercial TV viewers. Only commercial TV I watch is the footy. I can’t be convinced that anything else is worth it.
I’ve regressed to my uni days and apart from being an avid ABC radio listener, especially Radio National and the other one, am streaming RRR. Not too many brain dead commercials on any of them.
Come to think of it, I want one of those really daggy ABC Radio Wave T-shirts. And if I could find a Norman Gunston shirt would wear that too. Will go well with the Borat shirt.
Will go well with the Borat shirt
Over the Borat mankini?
Nah, the other one with his long white socks and hotpants
Do you have a Baldrick T shirt, Baldrick?
Mmmm, Borat & Baldrick. I can see this up in neon lights.
No, i don’t possess a Baldrick T-shirt, would seem rather self indulgent wouldn’t it?
Well it might help if you were walking down the street one day and you had a sudden onset of alzheimers. “Who am I? Oh, that’s right I’m Baldrick, it says so right here.” That’s why you always see the seniors on the bus tours getting around with name tags on.
I like slogan tshirts, but only if they’re funny and in no way lame. And I have a few from japan that have weird “english” phrases on them that make no sense and are spelt incorrectly, but I thought it added to their charm! If people ask me what they mean I’m just going to say they’re gaelic.