Ok, I just clicked over to CNN.com before bedtime, to see if any news happened while I was watching DVR'd Doctor Who/Torchwood (still one episode behind on this one), and noticed something. Along side the usual little video camera icon next to the "latest news" titles, I spied what looked like a little T-shirt icon. Curious, I clicked on the icon and lo and behold it took me to a page where I could BUY A T-SHIRT with the story title on it.
Does anyone else think this is totally ridiculous? Personally, I can't remember a time when I looked at a caption title on CNN and thought "gee, that would look great on a T-shirt! I wish CNN would start selling them." Especially the 3 titles highlighted today;
Hips Don't Lie' singer pushes education
Law would penalize homewreckers
Weird fish leave sea, spawn on beach
then "I just saw it on CNN.com, with the time it posted.
(seriously, go over and look at them, they are ugly as sin!)
I suppose I should be relieved that they are not offering every title on a shirt since another title in between 2 of these 3 was
Dad mistakes young son for prey, shoots.
Seriously, I think that whatever marketing genius thought this would be a good idea should be fired. Does CNN really think that people these days have $15.00 (plus $4.99 shipping) to blow on a T-Shirt with a CNN.com title and big honking advertisement on it? Seriously bad taste, in my opinion. Gas is nearly $4 a gallon in some places, the cost of food is rising dramatically, in fact CNN did a story today about how people are cutting back on grocery expenses and even making their own laundry detergent because money is so tight. AND there is a little mini survey right on the home page asking if gas prices are cutting into food budgets and 75% of respondents say YES (I know it isn't a scientific poll, but still). Did someone really think that people are going to log in to CNN.com, see a title for a news story and think "I really want that on a shirt!"? Crazy.
I think that I will continue to list the titles CNN deems appropriate to put on a T-shirt until the idea dies. (I seriously hope that people really aren't in the market for this kind of thing. It would really cause me to lose all faith in humanity).
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3 comments:
My curiosity got the best of me and I clicked on the T-shirt icon also. My fist thought was "are they selling these or giving them away as advertisement?"and "what kind of advertising gimmick will they come up with next?!".
I wasn't even sure I wanted one even if they were FREE because I would feel a little silly wearing a t-shirt with a CNN headline on it, it seemed like such a stupid idea. I thought that if it was free maybe I could get my husband or one of my sons to wear it around the house or something. Then when I saw it cost 19.99 including s+h to buy one of these ridiculous things I just about fell over.
I had to giggle to myself wondering who in their right mind would be stupid enough to shell out hard earned money one of these. I wouldn't pay $20 for a t-shirt even at a vacation souvenir shop.
I hope CNN makes these shirts to order instead of ordering bundles of each headline caption or they are going to have a lot of garage rags on their hands. If wearing these shirts is the new fashion trend I'M not falling for it!
Great article Sue. It's in the best spirit of Random Reviews.
I'm going to get a shirt made that says "Wolf Blitzer touched me inappropriately and all I got was this lousy T-shirt"
Shame on CNN for the year's worst marketing ploy. Just more proof that mainstream news is slowly dying.
I'm sure you could find all sorts of headlines that would make inappropriate t-shirts. It does seem like a marketing idea that went to seed, but no one wanted to say how bad it was. Maybe they thought weird and inappropriate would sell. It's worked before.
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