W&M Marketing Fail: Part III

For those that have been following this blog for awhile, you've already read about W&M's new mascot suckage and last year's incredibly terrible Homecoming shirt. So you get the idea that they fail on a regular basis over in the lesser burg. Well, not to let their fanbase down, they went all out for their new shirts:

So let's break this down...

First of all, in case you didn't know, W&M has joined the list of schools that have a mascot that has absolutely nothing to do with their nickname. Their mascot is a mythical animal called a griffin. Supposedly, these things can fly given the premise of the shirt. Not sure why they can't breathe fire too, while they're at it. Or it could've been something cool like a liger. Who knows...maybe Busch Gardens paid them to make their mascot coincidentally the same as Busch Gardens' newest ride. Unfortunately, W&M's version is not cool or exciting, will never make some scream with excitement, and people will never stand in line to see it. On the other hand, it is the same color as someone who has ridden the Griffin a few too many times. And what does that have to do with the Tribe? Even W&M's most popular alum made fun of it on national TV (around :55 mark):

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Virginia's Confederate History Month & Griffin Mascot
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Rally to Restore Sanity

Second, paying for your own Homecoming t-shirts? How terrible is that? In the land of purple and gold, we get a free I Bleed Purple shirt every Homecoming (as long as you beat the lines). I just don't see any W&M student putting up $15 for anything that's not a book, especially a terrible shirt like this. Plus, how is Chanellos managing to give our $5 gift certificates? Doesn't that make their famous cardboard pizza free?

Third, what kind of tagline is that? "Fight or flight... Hens can't do either!" Listen Tribe, any school trying to call out another team's mascot on what it can or can't do when their own mascot doesn't actually exist just needs to give up, alright Tinkerbell.

Maybe the W&M Athletics Marketing department should stop playing Dungeons and Dragons and learn how to actually do their job without making a fool out of the entire W&M community.