There’s turning lemons into lemonade, and then there’s turning a pretty serious prison sentence into a merchandising opportunity.
That’s what Michael Cohen, former Trump attorney, now vocal critic, is doing after being sentenced to three years in prison for tax evasion and campaign violations.
Technically, all of the merchandise is related to his “Mea Culpa” podcast, and, if we’re being real, it’s pretty creative. But, it’s certainly one of those “stranger than fiction” situations.
The products include a “get out of jail free card” and multiple orange jumpsuits with different logos or messages, including the opportunity for a personalized name patch.
Aside from the prison-themed products, there are things that are more commonplace for a podcast to sell, like T-shirts, stickers, buttons, drinkware, even a wrist cushion for long typing sessions.
The other thing is that it’s actually pretty reasonably priced. A jumpsuit will only run you $59.99, and it’s the item that Cohen himself reportedly said is his favorite.
“You are Busted!” the item’s description says. “The authentic looking personalized busted prison orange jumpsuit lets you personalize your name with up to nine characters. Not a good look in a courthouse but perfect for Halloween!”
It’s all very wacky. It’s maybe even a little gauche. But we live in a world where seemingly everyone has a podcast, and every podcast is looking for ways to attract listeners. That means standing out from the very saturated pack—and marketing via branded jumpsuits is certainly one way to do that.
