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News September 12, 2022

Sports Merch Mishaps Lead to Demand for Misprinted Items

It’s an ironic twist in the cases involving a glaring misspelling on a UC Irvine sweatshirt and a cringe-worthy graphical/geographical error on a Washington Commanders mug.

By  Christopher Ruvo

Can a merch mistake be marketing gold?

Yes, perhaps, if you subscribe to the idea that no publicity is bad publicity … even if it’s all a bit embarrassing.

Consider: The NFL’s Washington Commanders and Costco/the University of California, Irvine separately received widespread media attention for cheek-reddening goofs on branded merchandise. And in a kind of ironic twist, consumers were keen to purchase the mistake-stained promotional products.

Take the Commanders. In what was reportedly an official merch-sales vendor truck outside the team’s stadium on the opening weekend of the 2022 NFL season, the Commanders were selling mugs that featured the team’s new “W” logo and an outline of the state of Washington.

The problem? The Commanders play in Washington, D.C. – you know, the nation’s capital that straddles the East Coast states of Maryland and Virginia. Where do they not play? The Pacific Northwest state of Washington that’s outlined on the mug.

Media outlets covered the blunder, and folks ripped the Commanders on social media.

Despite the criticism though, more than a few fans were keen to buy the mugs, which were pulled from the sales truck before long. Twitter again chimed in:

In the other merch mishap case: At three of its Orange County stores, Costco sold sweatshirts for the “UC Urvine Anteaters.” The issue? “Urvine” is actually spelled “Irvine.” (Does anyone else hear Homer Simpson saying “Doh!”?)

The shirts were quickly pulled, but not before social and traditional media seized on the swag, making it go viral. Still, the misspelling turned into a major selling point, with current students, alumni and others looking to snap up the shirts.

“It's definitely like a novelty item that a lot of students are gonna want,” one student told CBS. “I would definitely show it off, be a little proud that they’re reppin the merch.”

Meanwhile, a 2010 alumna who had never purchased UC Irvine branded merch said she would “definitely buy” the incorrectly printed sweatshirt, Yahoo News reported.

UC Irvine stated that the university “was notified of defective merchandise” and that “UCI works regularly with vendors and in commerce, design, manufacturing and retail. Although there are various places in the trade chain where malfunctions may occur, it is rare.”