Croc O' Shirt

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Croc O' Shirt patch

Croc O' Shirt was a line of apparel marketed by Mad Dog Productions, mocking the Lacoste shirts in the early 1980s. The brand's name was a pun on the phrase "crock of shit" and its logo was a deceased Lacoste crocodile lying on its back.

Contents

Croc O' Shirt was introduced in late 1980. [1] As Mad Dog Productions CEO Barry Gottlieb put it, Richmond, Virginia, where he was based, [2] "...was 'the heart of prepdom.' 'First, there were Izod shirts,' he says. 'Then you were seeing the alligator on socks and pants and belts, just everywhere. One day I was sitting in a bar with my girlfriend, and I said, 'You know what I'd like, a shirt with a dead alligator on it.'" [3]

Sold primarily through mail order, the shirts were a hit with "anti-preppies," [1] with reported sales in 1983 of $300,000. [4] In 1982, Lacoste filed suit against Mad Dog Productions, claiming trademark infringement. [1] The lawsuit garnered publicity worldwide. [4] The suit was eventually settled out of court, allowing Mad Dog Productions to sell the shirts for another year, through July 16, 1984. [5] In the end, Gottlieb sold 90,000 Croc O' Shirts at $14.45 each, [3] for a total of $1,300,500 in gross revenue.

Other Mad Dog Productions products

Mad Dog Productions went on to release other novelty items:

Other activities / later developments

In the 1980s, Mad Dog Productions also managed a few Richmond-area new wave music bands, including Suzy Saxon and the Anglos. [9] [3] Gottlieb's label Brat Records released the group's debut album, Guilt by Association in 1984, [10] as well as a couple of follow-up albums. [11]

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Gottlieb organized the annual "Richmond's Tacky Xmas Decoration Contest and Grand Highly Illuminated House Tour," which was covered by, among others, NPR and Bravo. [12]

Beginning in 1995, after moving to San Francisco, [12] Gottlieb became a published humorist, writing a weekly column, Doing It Doggy Style, which was published in such newspapers as the San Francisco Chronicle , the San Francisco Examiner , the Chicago Tribune, the New York Daily News , and the Boston Phoenix , His audio commentaries were aired on the Pacifica Radio Network. [13]

Gottlieb has published a number of books, including:

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Nunes, Don (May 17, 1982). "Leaping Lizards! A Lawsuit Puts Life Into a Dead Alligator". The Washington Post .
  2. 1 2 3 Moss, Brian; New York Daily News (Feb 7, 1986). "EARL THE DEAD CAT BORN OF CREATOR'S NEED FOR PET". Chicago Tribune .
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Spencer, Jim (April 29, 1986). "DUKE OF EARL IS A KID AT HEART WITH A BENT FOR THE BIZARRE". Chicago Tribune .
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Trademarks: Mad Dog on the Run". Time . 18 Jun 1984. Archived from the original on July 14, 2007.
  5. 1 2 "Agreement Reached in Suit Against Maker of Polo Shirt Spoof". The Washington Post. June 11, 1984.
  6. 1 2 UPI ARCHIVES (Oct 13, 1983). "'Horse Shirt' brings suit". United Press International .
  7. 1 2 3 4 Mansfield, Stephanie (December 21, 1985). "Here, Kitty...Kitty??!?!". The Washington Post .
  8. "Earl the Dead Cat". Mad Dog Productions. Retrieved Jan 14, 2024.
  9. Jardin, Xeni; Hall, Vann (August 30, 2007). "A compendium of excellent counterfeits". BoingBoing .{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. Ollio, J. P.. 'Guilt by Association' at AllMusic
  11. 'Downtime in Dogtown' at AllMusic
  12. 1 2 KOLLATZ JR., HARRY (Dec 13, 2019). "Grand and Highly Illuminated: The mother of all tacky lights tours began with a bright idea". Richmond Magazine.
  13. Skywriting at Night" Editorial Reviews: About the Author. ISBN   0738821152.