Promotional T-Shirts and More: Whose Idea Was It, Anyway?

Image from HardRock Cafe website.

Promotional tee shirts are a great way to get the news out about your product, brand, or event. Creating an exciting and memorable promotional tee can be hard work, but it’s worth it to take the time to find a fun, eye-catching design that your customers will wear and remember for a long time. When in doubt, try to channel the spirit of the long-lived “Hard Rock Cafe” shirt or the infamous “College” sweater from Animal House.

In fact, promotional products have been around for quite a while. The first known products in the US were commemorative buttons dating back to the election of George Washington in 1789. Though there were some advertising calendars, rulers, and wooden specialties during the 19th century, there was no organized industry for the creation and distribution of promotional items until much later.

The father of promotional products is widely considered to be Jasper Meeks, a printer in Coshocton, Ohio, who convinced a local shoe store to supply book bags imprinted with the store name to local schools in the late 1800s. Henry Beach, another Coshocton printer and a competitor of Meeks, picked up on the idea, and soon the two men were selling and printing bags for marbles, buggy whips, card cases, fans, calendars, cloth caps, aprons, and even hats for horses.

If you want to put together promotional discount t-shirts, sweatshirts, or polos, there are a number of services around to help you design and print your idea. Free and paid logo makers can help you put together your design, and we’ve compiled some tips for finding a great t-shirt printer to get your products just right.

When you’re putting together your promotional clothing, it’s important to pick the right kind of shirt to print on. For something serious and professional, consider using a polo shirt. For fun events like summer camps or youth groups, a tie dye shirt is a great way to add a splash of color to your promotional shirts.