Day 190

As well you know, I've had some pretty unusual T-shirts donated to my THREEHUNDREDANDSIXTEEFIVE challenge, and this latest one from my pal Sarah definitely ranks high in the oddness scale.

Though I was not party to the meeting between the Italian Tourist Board's marketing team and the art studio commissioned to design their commemorative souvenir T-shirts, I've had enough warped meetings with clients in my time to form a pretty sound idea of how it went:

Italian Tourist Board marketing team: So, The Leaning Tower of Pisa is great and everything, but we really feel that tourists will want to take away memories of their visit in a wearable format. We're thinking T-shirts. Go...

MasterPisa Creations: OK, so you'd like a design...?

ITBMT: No, not just a design. We need something that shifts paradigms. Something that appeals to all demographics to allow for maximum cross sell. Something that will stand the test of time.

MC: Right...
OK, how about an illustration of the Tower, standing up right rather than leaning, but printed at an angle that suggests the lean. You could play off the joke that the T-shirts are faulty due to the misprint-

ITBMT: I don't see the big picture. I don't think that that's something someone would "wear". What about The Simpsons?

MC: I'm sorry?

ITBMT: The Simpsons. Something with Homer or Bart on it. That'll really appeal to all the Americans we get over here - it'll be really contemporary and cool.

MC: The Simpsons? Isn't that around 30 years old now?

ITBMT: And Bart could be up to no good. Causing some real mischief.

MC: I'm not really sure that-

ITBMT: something that translates well into English, we really have to make sure the Americans will understand and laugh. "Hahahahaa" they'll say.

MC: OK, it's just... The Simpsons. It's a heavily trademarked cartoon. An institution even. The intellectual property complications alone will-

ITBMT: he'll be doing karate! Yes! Karate kicking the Tower in an effort to correct its lean, and he'll be disproportionally scaled to show who's boss. Also he'll wear a track suit instead of his shorts. "Eat my track suit man". Hahahahaa.

MC: ....

ITBMT: ....

MC: ....

ITBMT: I need it by tomorrow for no reason.

Thanks for this one Sarah!