Paddy Donnelly

Would you give up your wardrobe for a whole year?  Would you turn yourself into a walking advertisement?  Jason Sadler from I Wear Your Shirt.com is doing exactly that in 2009!  Jason is giving everyone the chance to ‘buy’ a day of his life, and on that day Jason will wear a shirt with your advertisement on it, pimping your business. I had the pleasure of interviewing Jason about this project.

I also purchased the 11th February.  Can’t wait!

Firstly, who are you?

I am a 26 year old business-creative currently living in Jacksonvile, FL. I’ve used the internet, design and social media for business pursuits over the last 10 years, both professionally and personally. I co-founded Thought & Theory in 2006, a company that specializes in creating, designing, talking about and developing simple and beautiful web applications. My past work experience includes working with large advertising agencies, social networks, professional sports leagues, along with other various new/social media and internet related work.

What exactly is the project?

I am selling ad space on my chest, to anyone in the world, in the form of a t-shirt. I plan on wearing a new t-shirt everyday for 2009. January 1, 2009 is Day 1 and it starts at $1, and each day the price of a shirt goes up $1, until December 31, 2009 when the price is $365.

Where did this idea come from?

I love interesting marketing and advertising ideas. I like when people push the boundaries beyond typical banner advertising and I feel like this will give people a much better bang for their buck. What’s better then having someone physical talk about your brand, company or product?

I just bought February 11th, what can I expect to happen on that day?

That’s the secret sauce in this whole deal. I don’t want any particular day to outweigh another, which is why my exact daily schedule isn’t on the iwearyourshirt calendar. Regardless of where I am in the world, you can expect a bunch of photos, some video clips, facebook updates and of course a twitter/blog post.

Are you really going to wear other people’s shirts for a whole year?  What if you have an important meeting and you’re wearing a pink carebears tshirt?!

All 365 days of 2009! If I am sick, the shirt will be worn and I will do my best to get photos and video, but hopefully I’ll stay healthy. No meeting is so important that you can’t wear a pink carebears shirt and a nice sports coat… Plus, it’s a great icebreaker.

Do you think more and more projects like these prove you can sell anything on the internet?

The internet is such a great place and anyone can make a living if they are creative enough, have some determination and know some good people.

Anything else you would like to say about the project?

I encourage people to think outside the box when it comes to advertising and buy a spot on iwearyourshirt.com before they all sell out!

Thanks

Thanks Jason!  I urge everyone to hop on this great project of quirkiness.  It felt superb to purchase the 11th February!  Now I have something to do on that day.  Er, stalk Jason I suppose!  Jason will be blogging, taking photos and recording videos each day so you can keep up with how your shirt is doing.  January has already sold out and February is almost gone too so I’d definitely get in while this project is still in the early stages.  Once this hits the mainstream media it’s going to explode!

There are thousands of creative and quirky projects on this old Internet but it’s great when you discover one that is perfectly executed like I Wear Your Shirt.  Their site design is awesome.  So simple and well laid out, and with a lovely hint of mint.   It’s such a clear indicator that the innovative people will survive in this time of financial crisis.  People who utilize the power of the internet to its full potential and put a little thought into their marketing campaigns will prevail.  You can follow I Wear Your Shirt on Twitter.  I am!

One important thing to take away from this: ‘No meeting is so important that you can’t wear a pink carebears shirt’.

Good advice Jason. Be more unusual and creative in your daily life and you will be noticed and remembered.  And remember, no meeting is that important.  Take the stress out of your life and do what you love and everything will turn out alright :)