August 5, 2009 40 Comments

Irony or Wrinkle Free

3 wolf shirt In the “I can’t make this stuff up” department, super cool guy, Muhammad Saleem pointed out today that it appears that Urban Outfitters deleted the review thread for for this fine shirt. It turns out that people had a funny, sarcastic, somewhat ironic response to the shirt that ran counter to Urban Outfitters’ interests. (Hell, I don’t know why they deleted it, but that follows suit with what I show you next).

Amazon has the same shirt but left their reviews intact. 139 or so of them. And THAT’s what you have to go read now: Go ahead. I’ll wait.

The thing is: the reviews are hilarious! And you know what? I might just buy this shirt because wearing it would be an instant laugh from others who knew the story. (Okay, those who don’t know the story will think I have bad taste, but I do, so that’s okay.)

So what do you think? Did Urban Outfitters get their panties in a bunch for nothing? Even though the reviews are humorous and sarcastic, might that sell the shirt?

I say yes.

And if you want one, buy one. (Big fat honkin affiliate link.)

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  • http://twitter.com/webby2001 Tom Webster

    While reading this, I was drinking some Tuscan Whole Milk

    (http://www.amazon.com/Tuscan-Whole-Milk-Gallon-…)

    …which I promptly spewed out of my nose.

  • http://twitter.com/webby2001 Tom Webster

    While reading this, I was drinking some Tuscan Whole Milk

    (http://www.amazon.com/Tuscan-Whole-Milk-Gallon-…)

    …which I promptly spewed out of my nose.

  • http://www.technotheory.com Jared Goralnick

    Thanks for cluing us in on this. Turns out this was a big deal a few months back: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8061031.stm

    It's amazing what reviews can do to virality…even if there's no point to the reviews. I guess this is really an argument for listening to the crowd when the crowd represents seriously good copywriters.

    (btw, your affiliate link at the end is dead)

  • gavinstokes

    Thanks for this Chris – I haven't laughed so much in ages. I want one too now.

  • http://www.hubspot.com rickburnes

    Nice piece, Chris.

    I can see why Urban Outfitters did what they did. The comments raise all sorts of class stereotypes that are hard for a business to tolerate. What if they were stereotypes about race or sexuality? I doubt there would be objections to the deletions. Is such a distinction fair and good?

    We like our businesses to be human and personable, and understanding a joke is part of that. If a business like Urban Outfitters “gets their panties in a bunch for nothing” we feel more distant from them. But think about the victims of class stereotypes in the comments — they feel even more distant.

  • markjamesjewell

    “And when you put this shirt on a ladies' man, it's like giving an AK-47 to a ninja.” Seriously – hilarious! I probably wouldn't have paid attention before – but now, seriously, thinking about including it in my clothing line of my online outdoors store. Some of my customers will eat this up. They'll order night crawlers, with a side of wolf shirt, and probably have twice the success when fishing this weekend!

  • http://www.monicaleestudios.com/ monicalee

    Not to get too paparazzi on you but I saw Micheal Jackson's baby-mama in this shirt on an entertainment news program and the host made a snide comment about her 80's T. Guess we know where she shops now.

  • http://www.partimejoball.com/ johnpeter

    very nice design

  • http://www.partimejob4all.com/ johnpeter

    very nice design

  • gregcryns

    Thanks for the link to the hilarious Amazon page, Chris. For those that have not seen it, please go there. Here is one quote from a comment: “And when you put this shirt on a ladies' man, it's like giving an AK-47 to a ninja.”

    But even more enjoyable was your comment on the affiliate link:
    (Big fat honkin affiliate link.)

    Why do we need to be so PC about posting an affiliate link? Is making money now a bad thing to be associated with, sorta like being a “tree hugger”? Certainly buying through an affiliate link cannot skin someone's nose, do you think?

  • http://twitter.com/djwaldow DJ Waldow

    Or course I laughed my ass off as I read through the first few reviews. Then, my mom's voice kicked in “would that be funny if they were talking about you?” My inner dialogue continued with me replying…”…uh….I'd never wear that t-shirt unless we were hosting another Awesome 80's party.” I then continued to read (and laughed some more).

    *Note: My mom taught Holocaust/Genocide Studies at the college level for years. This sensitivity towards others was beat into me!

    Then I paused, again.

    Part of me agrees with Rick Burnes. What if the issues were around race or sexuality? Would we all be laughing? I don't think so. But…does that make it wrong to laugh about “class” stereotypes?

    Last week I wrote about “Tan Man” – http://socialbutterflyguy.com/2009/07/30/tan-man/ – as it got me thinking about a similar topic of making fun of people. In this case, it was not just a class of people, but a real human being. Was that wrong?

    I mean, if you know me, you know that I bust balls all the time. I love to play practical jokes and just make others smile and laugh. But in this case, I'm doing it at the expense of another. Is that wrong?

    I really am not sure where I stand.

    DJ Waldow
    Director of Community at Blue Sky Factory
    @djwaldow

  • http://gregfriese.com/ Greg Friese

    Don't miss the Zubaz pant reviews, as funny if not funnier. Adding to my wish list

    http://www.amazon.com/Zubaz-Pants/product-revie…

  • greg_cryns

    redo Discuss

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    Actually interesting, Rick. I hadn't given it that angle. I'm glad you did. Might change my mind entirely.

  • nwjerseyliz

    I'm of two minds. On one hand, the reviews were funny and had me on the verge of buying a shirt to wear to the next Social Media event.

    But I see the class issue, too. Now that there are more obese people in the U.S., the only acceptable target for ridicule is “white trash” or “trailer trash”. I think we can thank Jerry Springer for promoting the stereotype of poor, uneducated, white, NASCAR-loving Southerners.

  • http://twitter.com/cvharquail cv harquail

    Chris and Rick,

    I admit that I laughed so hard I nearly snorted my latte onto the keyboard. And then I read these comments, and watched the conversation shift.

    I have been wondering whether, over time, blogs and the practice of commenting on blogs would increase the quality of civic discourse — or, more plainly, would blogging help us develop better conversation about important issues? Or, will we just keep repeating the same patterns ten years from now?

    Although I enjoyed and frankly needed a good laugh this morning, I especially appreciate how even something that starts out so dorky could end up offering new insight. thanks-
    cvh

  • Nancy

    Oh man, thanks for the laughs this morning – they'll sell millions!

  • http://khyros.com/ David Kowarsky

    AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

  • scmarkert

    This was a real gem…I was standing in rapture somewhere between LMAO and in awe of the literary talents of the reviewers. It certainly had me going back and reviewing the picture of the shirt several times, which is what I, as a marketer, would love to have happening to my product. I agree with you Chris…the manufacturer should have kept the comments and used them for promotion…an almost cult-driven chronicle of adventures (fact or fiction) promoting their product.

  • mskristiana

    I think the only thing BETTER than the comments are the customer images! Goes to shoe just how far people are willing to take this.

    I believe Urban Fitters might be afraid of their customers – but then this really just demonstrates an age old issue of companies being afraid of what can happen to their brand if customers start to participate in the conversation.

    In the end, people will now be saying something less positive about Urban because they committed the sin of halting a form of communication that they initiated by having a reviews section.

    But seriously, if you haven't looked at the customer images, you're missing out…

  • nwjerseyliz

    Maybe Urban Outfitters thought some people wouldn't get the joke and associate the commenters' style with their brand. I'm sure that there are those people who take things at face value and UO didn't want to “tarnish” the image of their customer base.

  • http://twitter.com/sjhalestorm Scott Hale

    Hey Chris,

    I'm so happy you found the Three Wolf Shirt. This has been going on for awhile now and Urban Outfitters definitely got their panties in a bunch over nothing. The reviews of this seemingly simple shirt are viral gold. What about selling far more less-than-unique-shirts than should have been possible is against Urban's interests? I know at least a few people that have bought this shirt simply because the story behind it is hilarious.

    Big mistake for Urban to throw away the history that is probably to be credited for selling any of the shirts.

    Thanks for the post,

    - Scott

  • Elizabeth_H

    Haha oh wow, those reviews were awesome. Because of their hasty actions, Urban Outfitters is now loosing the benefits of these now viral reviews!

  • http://twitter.com/justinstrelow justinstrelow

    What on Earth did Urban Outfitters expect?? The only reason they are selling this shirt is to try to cash in on a meme that ran its course six months ago. Late to the party, and now they're “bunch-pantied” (to continue the motif) because they got a similar reaction to the Amazon posting.

    One would assume they are marketing to the people in on the joke, and yet they shun that very demographic by shutting down reviews. It makes no sense.

    BTW – the U.O. post was big on Reddit yesterday. http://www.reddit.com/r/WTF/comments/978h2/urba…

  • http://queensboro.wordpress.com/ Kate

    The reviews definitely had me laughing. Then, I read all of the comments on this blog post. Then I was in a quandary. Then I was aggravated. Then I thought about the feelings of others. Now, I'm not sure what to think.

    I don't believe that everyone can be 100% PC all of the time. That is boring. It is also impossible, because what is PC for me is not what is PC for my cousins, or customers or clients. However, there are situations where irony and making fun are appropriate and where it is better to play it straight. I think it would be terrible if the COMPANY wrote reviews like what are posted. That would be insulting as well as illegal in many states, according to employment laws, etc.

    However, user-generated content is different than company-generated content. That really can't be controlled. Nor, for the most part, should it. On Seth Godin's blog, he talks about “shaving the bear,” or producing a “band-aid” for a problem, rather than a solution. If you have disgruntled customers, irony-prone customers, etc. and so on, and they produce content that brings something to light that may be uncomfortable, fix the problem, not the customer! Doing that will ensure many fewer upset, highly motivated and publicly vocal customers, and more happy customers.

    In the case of the wolf shirt-some people will buy it because they do, genuinely, like it. Others will buy it because they like the irony. Both reasons to buy the shirt are perfectly acceptable. You can make fun of anything if you try hard enough. Unless the attack is directed at one specific individual, I think it is a mistake to go overboard reacting to public social commentary and trying to be 100% PC. You can't get anything done if you don't take a stand and make a decision.

  • http://twitter.com/Nat_Mich NatMich

    lol, this made my day. I think even I want one now ;).

  • http://www.hallicious.com Hallicious

    I see where you're coming from Rick, but don't agree in this instance. My understanding is that Urban Outfitters made a business decision to sell the shirts after the meme started on Amazon. In which case they are profiting from a meme and attempting to control it on their site.

    Can you have it both ways?

  • http://www.hubspot.com rickburnes

    Hallicious — I didn't know that that's how this thing got started. If that's indeed the case — that UO decide to sell the shirts after reading the comments on Amazon, then you're absolutely right. It's as if they were fine to be joking around about it when it was an inside joke, but when it's out in the open they don't want to associate themselves w/ it.

    Rick

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  • http://www.honeybeeconsulting.com startabuzz

    I was all ready to wax rhapsodic about meeting the man of my dreams, irresistible in his lupinesque hotness, over a few sips of Zima at the local Moose Lodge, but then Rick had to go and make several excellent points (I'll get him for that).

    I have to admit that I see his point (though I've been in Urban Outfitters' stores enough times that I know their rep is “uber cool” and don't think for a second that class issues had anything to do with their decision). Their image notwithstanding, the reasons that Rick put forth for something like this NOT being out there are good, and we should remember that stereotyping isn't such a great idea.

    Social consciousness aside, however, I fully admit that I laughed at those reviews til my sides ached (snorted where appropriate) and am about 30 seconds from buying that white-hot, poly-blend deliciousness.

  • http://twitter.com/amandabucklow Amanda Bucklow

    This is hilarious! The best review is the one with one star from someone who now thinks the other reviews were exaggerated. Bless! I wonder if Spud is back with us yet?

  • avflox

    HAHHAHAHAHA!!!! I bet you sales are rocking. I might have to buy one, too. LOLOL

  • http://thesunnymoon.net Stajo

    I've seen this T-shirt earlier on Amazon and thought that the upper wolf was actually looking in the opposite direction and this ear was his nose.

  • Missy Knight

    Gosh…Today was just another Thursday until I read this blog post. I'm going to start saving up for my own 3 wolf shirt.

  • http://www.freshbooks.com/ Rayanne Langdon

    I don't get it. Aren't the uber ironic hipster kids UO's demographic? Seems silly.

    Anyway, the comments are so awesome. When did the entire world get so hilarious?

  • bwagy

    It's really a case of you're buying the story not the product. You're buying the t-shirt so everytime you wear it you can tell the story to your friends. And that is worth more than the actual t-shirt!

  • Name

    too funny. makes me want to buy the shirt

  • Name

    too funny. makes me want to buy the shirt

  • http://www.memorybits.co.uk/ micro sd card

    That is boring. It is also impossible, because what is PC for me is not what is PC for my cousins, or customers or clients. However, there are situations where irony and making fun are appropriate and where it is better to play it straight. I think it would be terrible if the COMPANY wrote reviews like what are posted. That would be insulting as well as illegal in many states, according to employment laws, etc.

  • http://www.toplvstore.com/ lv

    It’s really a case of you’re buying the story not the product. You’re buying the t-shirt so everytime you wear it you can tell the story to your friends. And that is worth more than the actual t-shirt!