Even though Pedro never ran for president, everyone still bought the T-shirt.
While the red letters "Vote for Pedro" might have faded by now, his name continues to appear on billboards, with new slogans, all over the country. The latest Pedro craze: "Hillary/Pedro 2008."
From the mall to the local thrift store, graphic T-shirts abound. They keep coming, with millions of different designs, and college students keep buying. USC students are no exception.
It might be a fad, but it is a fad that talks. While students do not have much to say about their T-shirts, the T-shirts seem to be saying a lot about the students.
Laura Bausum, a transfer marine science student from Danville, Ky., favors her John Deere style tee labeled "Good Girl Gone Bad."
"I can't wear it in my hometown, though," she said, "because all the people know me and they would take it way too seriously."
Still, Laura likes the shirt because it describes her.
"And it fits really well, too," she adds.
Comfort is a plus for college students, but so is being fashionable. Some students say graphic tees allow both, and although they are a trend, they can still be unique.
Sackwear.com, a new T-shirt site based in Albuquerque, N.M., has taken that idea seriously. Having already sold almost 1,600 shirts in its first month, the company's designs are meant to draw attention without stupid or blatantly inappropriate.
"We just wanted to use our creativity to put some shirts out there that gave a little more of a 'wink' when you see them," Sam Maclay, designer, said in a news release.
The motto for Sack: "Shirts for People."
Owners Maclay and Tim McGrath said it is meant to reflect the growing trend of consumers searching for original ways to express themselves through fashion.
"The well-crafted, yet somewhat inappropriate potty joke has a place in pop culture," McGrath said. "We're just putting them on shirts, not to shock people, just to make them laugh. But also maybe to shock people."
For a small price, consumers can buy humor, wisdom and coolness.
"I think it's sick," said Micah Towery, a third-year literature student at Binghamton University in New York. "People think they are being different by wearing them (graphic tees), but everybody is wearing them. The problem with fashion is that it makes ugly people look OK."
Garrett Curry, USC campus minister for The Shack, views part of the trend as an identity issue.
"I think it's very similar as the psychology behind tattoos," he said, "except T-shirts are cheaper and won't be stuck on you 'til the day you die."
Though T-shirts can reveal a lot about the consumer, Curry said he feels they can also be a way for a person to plagiarize from a company.
"Throw $20 on the table for a shirt and now you're a rock star, a Christian, an activist, a trend-setter, the person in the catalogue or someone who actually has a sense of humor. Like all trends, graphic tees will get old. And ironically, you'll start seeing name brand graphic tees in thrift stores, which inspired the whole thing to begin with."
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