Even a Fictional Misprint Can Drive T-shirt Demand

Brendan Menapace

The hit TV show “The Bear” is returning, and one character is trying to use T-shirts to advertise the show’s titular restaurant.

One problem, he didn’t do his proofreading before it made it to print, and was left with shirts advertising “The Berf.”

While the show has only released a trailer, that printing error was enough to cause a stir on Twitter, with viewers hoping that “Berf” merchandise would magically appear from the screen to the real world.

Whether it was someone at FX doing the marketing or not, “Berf” T-shirts are already popping up on sites like Redbubble.

It’s incredible what something like a misprint does to our brains. We want that exclusive apparel that we know no one else will have. It has sentimental value, even if it’s printed incorrectly.

Of course, every printer is screaming at me right now that misprints have no place in the world. But, when they’re purposely written into scripts and then turned into marketing, that’s another story.

It’s yet another example of how TV shows can use small moments and in-world jokes to create real-world promotional products. We would bet on more culinary-focused products from The Bear restaurant making their way into the world soon.

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