Anyone who discounts branded merchandise as cheap junk doesn’t know all of the work that goes into a really well-executed promotional product or campaign.
Apparently, MTV knows how tough it is, and created a “Project Runway”-style show where designers compete to create the flashiest, most memorable and most stylish branded merchandise for musical artists in the hopes of taking home a $1,000 cash prize.
“Merch Masters” debuted a few weeks ago on MTV’s YouTube channel, and so far designers have created products for Lil Nas X, Camila Cabello and Saweetie (who also got the fast food merchandise treatment from McDonald’s earlier this year).
Now, being a fashion design show at its core, the products go pretty far above just T-shirts or hoodies. Think jackets with rhinestones, flame appliqués, the works. But, it also goes beyond just apparel—one designer made a furry water bottle for Saweetie.
At the end of the day, the challenge is that they have to create a product that will attract attention at the merchandise table. Isn’t that the goal of any good promotional product?
It’s cool to see merch take the spotlight on a network like MTV. Also, the blend of fashion design and good old fashioned advertising shows how much creativity goes into the process, even if there are fewer rhinestones on your average piece of promotional apparel.
