Anime T-shirts are a hot product at UmaiClothing. But here’s the thing: the company’s best sellers don’t happen by accident. A lot of thought goes into Umai’s designs, original artwork, and so forth. They plan to succeed by planning each new product release. Yet every now and again, you will run across a hot selling T-shirt that seems to make itself.
Such is the case with some new T-shirts selling like hot cakes. They came about as the result of Hudson, OH mayor Craig Schubert’s claim that allowing ice fishing within city limits could encourage prostitution. For the record, Schubert has a history of saying things that get him in trouble. In this particular case, the trouble is relentless mocking.
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Ice fishing Not Allowed
The whole issue started when a number of people petitioned the city to allow ice fishing on Hudson Springs Lake. Such activities are not allowed for safety reasons. However, the petitions had to be addressed at an open City Council meeting.
A number of Council members made it clear they were not in favor of allowing ice fishing. They worried the city could be held liable for any accidents on the ice. They also voiced concerns about having to burden firefighters, paramedics, and police with rescue missions in the event of an accident.
For the mayor though, safety was not enough. He suggested that allowing ice fishing would result in anglers setting up ice shanties on the lake. And where there are ice shanties, the mayor concluded, the potential for prostitution also exists. He openly wondered during the Council meeting whether police needed the additional responsibility of keeping tabs on what is going on inside ice shanties on the lake.
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The Jokes Were Easy
In every group of people there are those who find humor in everything. Nothing is protected from a good joke or two. Mayor Schubert learned that the hard way. Once his comments went viral, the jokes came easy. Thousands of people have posted memes, jokes, and comments across social media in the weeks since the infamous City Council meeting.
Just the thought of widespread prostitution on the surface of a frozen lake is enough to get people chuckling. But throw in those creative types who were seemingly born to design memes, and you have a recipe for a laugh fest. Needless to say, no one has been disappointed. The jokes have been flying so fast and furiously that Schubert may never live this down.
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It is All About the Message
Schubert, ice fishing, and prostitution aside, the best-selling T-shirts are those with the most popular messages. A message that strikes a chord can translate into big sales. A message with enduring resonance can be a hot seller for a long time. The question is this: how does a hot selling T-shirt make itself?
For the designer, it is all about keeping an eye on what’s trending. The thing about hot selling T-shirts is that they do not tend to last forever. Even those with long-term potential burn out at some point. So it’s best to look for the craze of the moment. It is best to focus your attention on what happens to be viral at any given time.
The Schubert-inspired T-shirts will probably continue to sell through the remainder of the winter and into the spring. Summer will probably kill them off. Will they be resurrected next winter? Time will tell. But if not, somebody else will say or do something so funny or outrageous that a new line of T-shirts will be born. The shirts will make themselves.
