Yesterday I saw a jacket lettered on the back “Occupy Boston.”  Although the jacket was not crisp-looking and might even be viewed as ratty, it suggests some steps for the commercialization of this social protest movement.

Normally, causes advertise themselves by posters, T-shirts and buttons.  Years after a given protest movement, the posters have been thrown away, the T-shirts are the faded tops worn at the beach or to wash the car, and the buttons are either in the trash or in the top drawer, awaiting the passage of a few decades before finding their way into memorabilia shops.

But jackets are something else.  They are most typically for sports teams, sometimes for cities or whole countries, sometimes for a club or social group; but you don’t typically see them for social protest movements.  How often have you seen jackets that proclaim “Vets against the War” or “Socialists of America” or “Mothers for Bank Regulation”?  (I exclude and refuse to discuss the seemingly bizarre trend of jackets that say on the back “Police” or “Sheriff” or “FBI” although they always have worried me on grounds of impersonation of a peace officer.)

Now that we have seen the cutting edge, the potential here, and noting that Occupy is going to need cash for food, winter warmth and defense lawyers, let us offer some marketing advice to our brothers and sisters on the barricade:

SHOT GLASSES:  There is a smart market from collectors of souvenir shot glasses.  Minimal art work is required. Glass is cheap to buy and as a single item (collectors want examples, not whole sets) a quick mover at a good price point.  (Ditto souvenir spoons, and with those comes the opportunity for a souvenir master spoon rack with an overall “Occupy” motif and notches for spoons from various cities.)

SOUVENIR PLATES: These usually come in sets of 8 or 12, and are suitable for wall mounting in middle class dining rooms.  Scenes from different cities, perhaps Currier-and-Ives-style hand-colored scenes of police clearing a particular public space, can also offer job opportunities for Occupy graduates seeking to reenter the job market, although the hand coloring does require a steady hand.

T-SHIRTS: Always a favorite, and permits a wide variety of content, including the ever-popular mild obscenity.  They will need to attend to stocking all sizes, of course.

GAME-USED MEMORABILIA: Sports teams sell used balls and uniforms, home plates, basketball nets, football helmets, pucks.  Occupy can cut up older site-used tents, bed rolls and picket signs.  Effective marketing requires some organization to authenticate provenance, yet another potential profit center.

The point for me is this: until now, Occupy has been accused of being unfocused and without program or purpose.  Now we can win over the critical elements of the business community which have expressed these negative views by making the Occupy movement its own business;  Chambers of Commerce will demand installation of Occupy communities in their own cities, thus also solving our unemployment problem.

Soon, Occupy people will become part of the 1%!  We call this further proof that America truly is the land of economic opportunity.