Everybody loves a great t-shirt. We’ve been sporting them as a wardrobe staple for ages. Beginning in the late 60’s and early 70’s it became popular to brand t-shirts with company’s logos. People became walking billboards for their favorite labels, causes, and hometown teams. Hippies tie died their t-shirts every color under the sun. In the 80’s black band t-shirts were all the rage, and the punks ripped their t-shirts to shreds. As of late I’ve noticed that T-shirts have gotten more profound, often making bold, in-your-face statements. T-shirts have become a way for people to communicate and express their feelings, without having to speak.

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 An interview with pop rocker, Jarvis Cocker, in Tokion magazine got me thinking about the dark side. In describing his latest album he says, “There’s some kind of recognition of the darker side of human nature––a recognition that without that dark side, life would be pretty dull. It’s the destructive urge within people, but that struggle between the two sides of yourself is what creates things. I think you give yourself over completely to one side or the other, you become fairly creatively inert. The interest is in the struggle, I think. That’s life, isn’t it?”

It struck me how few brands embrace their dark side. And I thought, “What a shame.” Continue Reading »

Outside the F stop in Brooklyn, a little girl was handing out this flyer. I breezed right by her outstretched hand–an automatic reaction to being handed something on the street in this metropolis–before I noticed she was eight years old. I turned around and took one from her as her father nodded and smiled. The girl looked determined. As I began to read the flyer I understood why: she was on a mission.

I have kept this piece in my wallet ever since. For one thing, it makes me laugh. Please note the “hot piece of flying trash.” Beyond that, it’s just plain inspirational. And beyond THAT, it’s vaguely disturbing how adeptly this eight year old has appropriated the language of direct marketing to wake people up to the problem of litter in her neighborhood.

I have done a lot of research on young teens in the last few years and this incident illustrates two big points about this generation: 1) they are determined to make a difference, and 2) they get marketing perhaps better than we know.